


Bad Blood

by unapologeticallydorky



Series: Chronicles of the Lost and Found [4]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Animal Death, Arguing, MacCready isn't getting paid enough for this, Mystery, Nick goes Dad Mode, Nuka World, Other, Unrequited Love, buddy cop, missing person, super unrequited
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-08
Updated: 2018-09-11
Packaged: 2019-03-15 07:23:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 41,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13608438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unapologeticallydorky/pseuds/unapologeticallydorky
Summary: The Sole Survivor is missing. Her two dearest friends- Nick Valentine and Hancock- are on the case but, despite their shared history, their conflicting personalities make things harder than they need to be. Something is off about this, though, and only Nick has an inkling of what it could be. Surely they can keep it together long enough to find their girl, right?





	1. Chapter 1

Nick stepped inside the Old State House and shook the rain out of his coat. He had hoped to wait til the rain passed to head off to Goodneighbor. The downpour seemed never ending; a bad omen. It wasn’t often he got a message from the mayor of this town, even more rare for it come from his personal bodyguard. _It’s an emergency_ , Fahrenheit had said. _Hancock needs to see you as soon as possible_.

Valentine could only wonder what it could be. He was also curious why Sage hadn’t delivered the message, though if it was as bad as Fahrenheit made it out to be she might be caught up doing damage control. Between the onslaught of rain and the vague message, he had a pretty bad feeling. Hancock wasn’t usually one to panic. He might not always be a man with a plan but he was a man of action.

He nodded at the doormen as he made his way upstairs. He could hear voices on his way up but it wasn’t until he got to the landing that he could make them out. Nick approached slowly; you could learn a lot from people who didn’t know you were listening.

“What’s takin’ him so long?” Hancock’s familiar voice rasped. He spoke in a worried tone that- to Nick- felt distinctly out of character. “Didn’t you say it was urgent?”

“Of course I did. I gave him your exact message.” There was a pause from Fahrenheit, probably to take a drag off a cigarette. “Maybe he’s reluctant to go out in the rain. Can’t imagine it does much good to his exposed wiring.”

A slam- fists hitting wood.

“God damnit, this is serious! We can’t be jokin’ around!” Rapid footsteps, pacing. “We shouldn’t even be here, we oughta be out there looking for her!”

_Looking for her? For who?_ Nick thought. A seed of worry blossomed in him stomach- or rather, where his stomach would be. He hoped his instincts were wrong.

The voices stopped when he knocked on the door to the office. He pushed in the door and scanned the room. Hancock was stopped in front of a desk with a grim look on his face. Fahrenheit was on a couch, leaning forward with her elbows resting on her knees. She nodded at the synth as he stepped through the door.

There was another man leaning against the far wall Nick didn’t recognize, with a sharp, angular face and one hell of a sniper rifle. He was young but had the air of man who had seen more than his share of nightmares; it was something far too common these days. His eyes widened when he got a look at Nick- a sure sign he was new in town- but he didn’t make any moves beyond a glance between the other two and a tip of his green hat.

Sage- Nick’s closest friend and Hancock’s main squeeze- was conspicuously absent. Nick ignored the warning bells going off in his head. It was probably nothing.

“I hear you folks have some troubles.” Nick said, shutting the door behind him.

“Nice of you to join us, Nick. This your idea of urgent?” Hancock growled.

“Don’t get short with me, I did tell your bodyguard I had some business to wrap up in the city. I came as soon as I had things sorted.” Nick dropped his hands in his pockets and stared down the ghoul. “You want my help or not?”

Hancock looked away, frowning. He leaned against the desk with one hand and rubbed his temples with other.

“Yeah, sorry, it’s just-” He took a breath, “-I got bad news. You’re not gonna like it.”

“I rarely do. What’s the problem?”

“Sage is missing. Been gone a couple weeks now.”

The four of them could have heard a pin drop. That bad feeling in the pit of Nick’s stomach was back with a vengeance. It spread, making his chest feel tight in a way he hadn’t felt in years. He tried to keep his bearings, stay professional, but he couldn’t remember the last time he felt so off balance.

“Start at the top. Now.”  

“She left a good three weeks ago. Said she was gonna head up to Sanctuary and check in on some friends. I asked if she wanted me along but she said she wouldn’t be gone much longer than a week. Didn’t wanna distract me from my _mayoral duties_.” Hancock sighed and shook his head. “After a week I was worried. After two I sent a courier to check on things. Day before yesterday I got a reply. Here, read it yourself.”

Hancock took a few steps towards Nick, reaching into his coat. He pulled out a folded note and handed it over. Nick studied the letter and quickly recognized the handwriting.

  
_Mayor Hancock-_

_I’m sorry to say I haven’t seen or heard from the General in a good few months. I had no idea she was planning on stopping in soon. I’ll send word if she shows up or we hear anything. I’d appreciate if you’d do the same. The Minutemen will be ready if we’re needed._

_-Preston Garvey_

 

Nick scanned it several times, hoping to glean any extra information he could. Unfortunately there wasn’t much else to get from it; it was short and to the point. He folded it again and passed it back to Hancock. The heavily silence returned. Nick fished his cigarettes and lighter out of his coat. He took a long drag before speaking.

“First thing’s first, we head towards Sanctuary. Talk to everyone we run into. Someone will have seen her and we’ll be able to track her progress, see where she went off course.” He took another drag, glaring at Hancock from under his hat. “Secondly, next time something of this magnitude happens, maybe you oughta _lead_ with the fact that one of my good friends is missing. That’ll certainly put a spring in my step.”

“Figured knowing it was an emergency would be enough. Ain’t like you’d know anything useful til you got here, anyhow.” Hancock grumbled.

Nick kept his mouth shut. As much as he’d like to tear him a new one, arguing wasn’t going to get them anywhere. He needed to stay focused. All they had was the barest outline. This could be as easy as Sage getting roped into helping a new settlement get on its feet. Or she finally met a deathclaw she couldn’t take. It didn’t help that Nick didn’t know what the roads were like these days; He’d been holed up in the city too long.

Nick studied the man at the back of the room. He was idly smoking, apparently taking little interest in the proceedings. His tan duster was torn and dirty, even missing an arm. Nick counted live bullets strapped and stashed away about anywhere they could be.

“Hey kid-” Nick started.

“I ain’t a kid-” He interrupted. Nick waved a hand and spoke over him.

“Do I look like a man who has time for your sass?” The young man shut his mouth. Fahrenheit smirked. “Now, as I was saying. You’ve got the look of a merc. What are the roads like? There been an unusual number of patrols? Gunners or super mutants, even deathclaws?”

He shook his head.

“No, things have been pretty quiet. Quiet enough that business has been slow. I’ve heard about some raider bullsh- crap to the west, but it’s too far away to be our problem.”

Nick nodded.

“Good to know.” He took another pull of his cigarette. “What’s your name, kid?”

“MacCready.” He said, with a roll of his shoulders. “Here at the request and payment of the good mayor.”

Nick bristled at the thought this man only caring as far as he was paid. That was the life of a mercenary, he supposed, but this was a deeply personal case for both Hancock and himself. He did his best to push past that feeling, too. It wasn’t important right now.

“We oughta hit the road in the morning. Spend tonight getting ready-”

“Tomorrow morning? What about now? She might need my- our help! We can’t just sit on our asses-” Hancock’s voice was rising to a fever pitch.

“It ain’t my fault you ignored your instincts for two damn weeks while she was off god knows where!” Nick finally snapped. “Probably didn’t even notice she was gone til your damn high wore off.”

“Oh yeah? And what about you, Valentine? When was the last time you checked in on your favorite partner? Or are you too good for her now that she’s taken up with the likes of me?” Hancock spat back, fists clenched.

“She’s too good for you and you know it, but it ain’t my place to question her taste in men. I figured you’d at least be able to keep her safe. Sure does hurt to be wrong, doesn’t it?”

The two men looked ready to brawl. Hancock took a menacing step forward, mouth curled into a snarl. A sharp scraping rang out in the room that stopped the two in their tracks. Fahrenheit stood with one foot against the old coffee table, forcing it to scratch harshly against the floor.

“You boys about done?” Her arms were crossed over her scuffed armor and she looked between them, almost disappointed. “Seems to me there’s a job to do and this shouting match isn’t gonna get your girl back.”

Hancock and Nick glared daggers at each other. The tension never left the room. Nick pulled up his coat collar and turned towards the door.

“We leave in the morning.” He said, hand on the doorknob. “She’s been gone so long the only information we’re gonna find is from folks who saw her. That means being on the road when they are. Be ready for a long trip. I got a bad feeling we’re in this one for the long haul.”

He left without another word, heading out into the stormy evening. He had his own strings to pull on.

“So, uh, just what was that about?” MacCready asked after a few moments of strained silence.

“I ain’t payin’ you to ask questions, Mac.” Hancock grumbled. He crossed the room to stare out the window. Through the rain he could just barely see Nick’s outline making his way deeper into Goodneighbor. He rubbed the back of neck and sighed deeply. Letting his nerves get the better of him, right off the bat, was not a good way to start this off. He was disappointed in himself for letting this get off on such a bad foot. There was no way this is going to be easy but he didn’t need to make it harder by making an ass of himself. That wasn’t going to bring Sage home.

He hoped the detective would put up with him long enough to see this through.

“I know, I know. I just want to get a bead on what I’m in for here.”

“Don’t worry about it. That’s just what happens when your dad is a cop and he doesn’t like your boyfriend,” Fahrenheit answered as she joined Hancock by the window.

“Will you give it a rest, Fahr?” Hancock said weakly.

It struck her just how tired he sounded, like he’d been awake for three straight days. Actually she’d seen him pull that- more than once- and he was usually in higher spirits.

“Sorry, boss.” She quietly lit a cigarette. “Listen, I know you’re worried. Scared, even. But it’s not just anyone that has the skills to keep up with us two _and_ a silver tongue to talk down Bobbi No-Nose. Whatever trouble Sage ran into, I’m sure she’s handling it just fine.”

Hancock lit is owe smoke and made a small nod of agreement.

“One thing’s for certain: She’ll have one hell of a story to tell when she gets back.”

Hancock huffed out a small laugh.

“Ain’t that the truth."  
“Just who the heck is this woman?” MacCready piped up from the back the room.

 

_______________

 

Nick spent the night picking up information around Good Neighbor. It was one thing to hear from a merc that things were quiet but another for traders to agree. Daisy, the lovely ghoul that ran Daisy’s Discounts, had news that lined up with what MacCready had told him. Things were calm. As calm as the Commonwealth ever was, anyway. Between the Institute getting knocked out of the picture and the Minutemen making a comeback, boogeymen were in short supply.

The raiders to the west, though, that worried him. With her connections to merchant caravans, Daisy had much better information than the young mercenary.

“They say the gangs have been out there for, oh, almost a year now. Used to be a decent trading post. Raiders ruined it like a pack of locust.” Daisy said, taking a cigarette Nick was offering. “Can’t say I know what got ‘em all to cooperate this long, though. It’s been awful quiet for some time but something’s sure put a bee in their bonnet. Merchants say it might be a new leader, but who knows. Could be the gangs are finally doing us the favor of wiping each other out.”

“We can only hope.” Nick said, scanning the general shops shelves for anything useful.

“You think this might have something to do with your missing person?”

Nick’s eyes snapped back to Daisy. She was leaning forward on her elbow, smoking and studying his face. Her set mouth and tired eyes- it struck Nick that she was more than just curious, she was concerned.

“It’s hard to say.” He replied as he looked away. “It’s possible, sure. Begs the question why she’d even be out that way, though.”

Daisy made a hum of agreement. Nick spent a few minutes gathering supplies for the road, purchased at a greater discount than he expected.

“Good luck out there, Valentine.” She left some things unsaid; that Sage had already made an impact here. That this was important to more than just him and Hancock.

The heavy rain came all around him. It drowned his thoughts. His words failed him. He nodded solemnly and headed towards The Third Rail, hoping for an empty chair in a quiet corner.

 

___

  
  


The morning was damp and unseasonably chilly but at least the rain wasn’t coming down in sheets anymore. Pale sunlight filtered through the clouds and reflected off the wet pavement. It was still, save for the sound of dripping water. It might have been a nice morning if Hancock hadn’t been so damn worried. He leaned against the brick wall of the Statehouse, smoking and waiting.

He looked up at the sound of footsteps. Nick was approaching with a look of determination- a steady glare and somber face. There was a bag slung over his shoulder that he didn’t have the day before. He stopped a few feet away from the ghoul, hands in his pockets.

“Nick.”

“Hancock.”

Silence. Neither quite wanted to meet the other’s stare. The anger from the night before was still there but it was restrained, an undercurrent to something else. Something unsure of itself. Nick moved to pull out his cigarettes, only to find Hancock offering him one of his own. He took it, lighting up without a word. A few puffs in he finally spoke.

“Listen, about last night-”

“Yeah, uh-”

“-I wanted to apologize.”

“-Sorry about that.”

The words were said haltingly and near in unison. They blinked in surprise. It jolted them out of their stone-like demeanor and they looked the other in the face. Hancock couldn’t hold his gaze, shifted his focus onto a dirty pool of water. Nick cleared his throat and continued.

“I overstepped my bounds yesterday. I didn’t mean to, ah, go for the throat the way I did. I could blame it on nerves but that’s no excuse. There’s no room on this case us for to have bad blood between us.”

Hancock scoffed.

“I don’t need to be coddled, Nick. We all know you could do this without me. Finding information, tracking people down, that’s your schtick. I’m still just kind of a fuck-up. Sure I’m the mayor, but I fell ass-backwards into this gig. I don’t really know what I’m doin’. And last night I was being an impatient ass. You were right to rip me a new one.” He took a drag. “All I’m askin’ is that you keep me around long enough to make sure she’s safe.” 

That wasn’t the monologue Nick expected. He was taken aback at the tired resignation in his voice. After all these years the man still hadn’t found his worth.

“Listen, John-” Hancock looked up sharply; Few people spoke his old name. “-We’re in this one together. It’s no secret you’re not my first choice for a partner but we’re doing this for _her_. Maybe we don’t always see eye-to-eye but we’ve always had the same goals. Never more so than right now.”

Nick let the words sink in a moment. He took another drag.

“You’re a good man, Hancock. A bit more reckless than I’d like, but good. And if I tell you otherwise again, you’re cordially invited to punch my lights out.”

Hancock chuckled.

“Don’t think Sage would approve of that kinda behavior.”

“Yeah, well, she’d knock us both flat for the way we acted yesterday. Let’s keep that between us.” Nick flicked the butt of his cigarette into a puddle. “Time to get this show on the road. We’ve got a long trip ahead of us.”

They made their way back inside the Statehouse. MacCready and Fahrenheit were giving the equipment a final once-over. A few men of the Neighborhood Watch stood around, shifting nervously.

“How’s everything lookin’?” Hancock said.

“You should have plenty of supplies. Extra ammo, spare stims.” Fahrenheit pushed her red hair out of her face. “A good amount of caps if you need ‘em.”

“You not coming with us?” Nick asked.

“Nah, Hancock’s asked me to stay here. Someone has to keep this pile of dirt together.”

They loaded up.

“We’ll send word when we know anything. Think you can handle this trash heap?” Hancock asked teasingly.

“Better than you. Might be my town before you get back.” Fahrenheit needled in return. They clasped arms for a moment before he headed out, followed by MacCready. Nick tipped his hat and tailed behind them. 

Getting through the city was easy enough. The three of them had been travelling the ruins long enough to know how to stay out of trouble. The first stop was Bunker Hill, which was still recovering from the battle with the Brotherhood a few months back. The homes had mostly been repaired but loose rubble and laser burns were a fresh reminder. Old Man Stockton confirmed he’d seen their missing agent. Hancock tapped his foot as Stockton explained it in the roundabout, vague terms only Railroad Agents have time for. Why bother with all the subterfuge if the Institute was already gone?

They continued northward. After another few hours the strange settlement of Covenant came into view. The picturesque-ness of the place made Mac grip his gun a little tighter. It reminded him of a cannibal town back in the Capital Wasteland he’d heard tales about. Luckily there was no need to spend much time there. The guard out front wasn’t too friendly with the trio; a synth and a ghoul wasn’t his idea of good company. Between Nick’s special way with words and Hancock’s pool of caps they got the information out of him. It was sparse but it was what they needed. A woman matching Sage’s description had been by a few weeks ago. They chatted, though she declined his invitation into the town. She made a face at something on her fancy pipboy and headed out. Last he saw, she was heading west.

_Heading west_ , Nick thought. _That doesn’t seem quite right_. Then again, she was probably sticking to the roads before she turned northward again, towards Drumlin. He couldn’t quiet the gnawing fear in the back of his mind. He already knew there was something bad out west, something even Sage couldn’t handle on her own. She did have a special way of finding the worst kind of trouble. He kept his theory to himself. There was no real evidence yet, just his damned instincts.

The walk continued. MacCready was starting to look dead on his feet. It was late when they finally came upon the Drumlin Diner. The lights were all out, save a lantern sitting in front. Trudy stood next to it, leaning against the wall and smoking.

“Evening, Trudy.” Nick said, stepping up the hill. She looked up sharply but relaxed when she recognized the synth.

“Haven’t seen you around in a while, Valentine.” Her eyes flicked behind him, registering the other two men. “What brings you three all the way up here?”

“Well, the short of it is we’re on a case.” He said after a moment’s hesitation. “You remember Sage, don’t you? Young woman, come out of the Vault-”

“Yeah, of course! She got me and my boy Patrick out of a bad situation. Took care of some nasty drug dealers for us. Why? Did something happen?”

“That’s just what we’re tryin’ to figure out. You haven’t seen her recently, have you?”

There was a pregnant pause as Trudy exhaled her smoke.

“I’m sorry, but she hasn’t been up this way in a few months.” She watched as the three of them seemed to deflate. Another pause, another pull on her cigarette. “It’s awful late, why don’t you boys hole up here for the night? No use in camping out when I’ve got a perfectly good roof to sleep under.”

Nick looked at his travelling companions. It was hard to gauge just how tired Hancock was but it was clear MacCready was about to fall asleep standing up.

“I think we’ll take you up on that. Thank you, Trudy.”

MacCready claimed a booth and stayed awake just long enough to scarf down some food. Nick found his own booth and settled in for the night. Just because he didn’t really need sleep didn’t mean he shouldn’t give his old frame a rest. After a while he was drawn out of his musings by a gentle snoring. He found Mac leaned against a wall, chin resting on his chest and hat tucked over his eyes. The boy hadn’t done much this trip but complain about the distance, but he was a decent scout. If this was going to go as poorly as Nick suspected then having someone with his skills around certainly couldn’t hurt.

Hancock sat outside while Nick and MacCready relaxed in the diner. He lit yet another cigarette; He was almost chain smoking. The nicotine wasn’t quite enough to calm his nerves. He hadn’t packed any of his usual vices- jet, mentats, not even booze- just to prove to Nick he could be on good behavior. It left him shaky. He stared off into the night, listening to the wind rustle the grass and watching the moon occasionally peak out from behind the clouds.

He wished he could get high. It certainly wouldn’t solve his problems but it would at least slow his mind down enough to get some rest. Sleep seemed unlikely while he was being tortured by worry about his Sunshine. He flicked his cigarette butt into the dark. He stepped back inside the diner to find Mac dead asleep and Nick looking meditative.  

“So what’s the plan for tomorrow, Nicky?” Hancock slid into the seat across from Nick. A few small candles sat on the table between them, casting soft light. He spoke in a low voice, not quite a whisper. “Seems this is kind of a dead end.”

“Not exactly. We know she didn’t make it here and the fella back at Covenant said she was heading west. If memory serves correctly, there’s another settlement out that way the Minutemen have been helping get on its feet. Sunshine Tidings.”

Hancock nodded.

“So we head that way and hope that, what, she got wrangled into helping out and lost track of time?”

Nick snorted.

“I’d say that’s probably the best case scenario.”

“Yeah? And what’s the worst?”

The candle light flickered. Deep shadows danced across their faces. They’d both been desperately trying to avoid that train of thought. What was the Worst Case Scenario, exactly? Never finding her? Finding just a trace, a hint that meant something terribly final happened, that neither of them had been there to save her from? Or finding her in one piece, but gone. Lost to this world. Just a ghost of a memory.

“Get some rest, John. We’ll keep looking as long as there’s a trail.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nick, Hancock, and MacCready are hot on Sage's trail. From a new town they find more information, but Nick and Hancock just can't seem to shake the shadow that's grown between them. The next clue brings them closer danger which, from Nick's experience, means they're also closer to the answer. Hopefully they can at least find some good news.

“So she just travels around and helps people?” MacCready said, raising an eyebrow. “And she doesn’t  _ ask  _ for caps?”

They hiked away from Drumlin through the chilly morning, hoping good news awaited them at Sunshine Tidings. The best way to get there was to follow the old roads and trails westward. They avoided what used to be the main thoroughfare and instead snuck past the old cabin to the north and crossed the bridge over the Walden Pond.  

The three of them had chatted with Trudy before heading out early. Things were pretty peaceful. Traders from Sunshine Tidings came by once or twice a week. It was a nice little place. There are so many new settlements on the up and up, Trudy had said, it’s nice that things finally seem to be going well for people. Thank goodness the Minutemen are making a comeback.

The small town wasn’t too far from the diner. Once they squeezed past a decrepit truck blocking the end of the bridge, they could see outlines of buildings through the fog. Nick spotted the tower of the old grain silo and other cobbled-together buildings. Hancock had spent much of walk there regaling Mac with some tales about their missing friend. Nick cut in once or twice to set things straight but Hancock was a surprisingly good story-teller.

“You sure she’s real? I’d buy her taking out a mirelurk queen with molotovs, but not getting paid sounds like bullsh- uh, like nonsense.”

“Oh, she’s real all right.” Hancock said with a grin.

“And you’d be surprised what being kind will get you. People offer her caps- and she takes them, she does have to eat, after all- but what she  _ earns _ is their respect. Loyalty, even.” Nick said as they walked down the road. 

“I’ll just take your word for that one, Valentine. Sounds like a great way to get stabbed in the back, if you ask me. Tell you what, though, you ever find any jobs you don’t wanna get paid for I’ll do you a favor and take ‘em off your hands.”

“You’re a real charmer, Mac.” Nick deadpanned. 

They approached the edge of town and a voice called out from atop a tall guardpost.

“Hey!” They stopped and looked up towards the tower. “What do you three want? Trading post ain’t open yet.”

A middle-aged woman with leathery skin and a scar across her face scowled down at them. Nick cleared his throat.

“Morning, ma’am-” He started.

“Jesus! What the hell are you?”

“Just a detective.” Nick said. This awkward exchange was a common one. He always did his best to move through it casually. It didn’t always go the way he wanted.

“You’re a synth, ain’t you? Just want do you want with our town?” Nick glanced back at Hancock and MacCready. They’d both noticed the shift in this womans stance. Defensive.

“Like he said, lady, he’s a detective.” Hancock stepped up. “We’re lookin’ for a friend of ours and she might’ve been out this way. We ain’t here to make trouble.”

She looked them over for a tense moment. They stood stiffly, trying to look as non-threatening as possible. They didn’t have the time or patience for this to go poorly. 

“Hmph. I’m not a fan of synths but I know a fair share of ghouls who’re the decent sort. Go talk to Marnie. She’s probably with the brahmin, on the far side of the building in the middle of town.” Her scowl deepened, giving them an intense look. “Don’t try anything funny, you hear me?”

“Me, funny? I’ve never told a joke in my life.” Nick said with a tip of his hat, and turned to head into town. Hancock and MacCready flanked him on either side, both trying to hide their sly smiles.

“That coulda gone worse.” MacCready said.

“Could’ve gone a lot better, too. We’d better keep an eye out for trouble.” Nick replied. “If that whole song and dance was any indication we might not have much luck here.”

Hancock looked around as they made their way through the settlement. Things seemed to be coming along pretty nicely for them. The old buildings had been patched up, their crops were growing well, and they’d gotten a good start on building up some walls around the town. They even had a few brahmin to speak of. Hancock smiled to himself. He was proud of these people. Whatever they’d done before, they’d come together to build something new. Something greater. It was a good feeling, knowing there might be hope for the Commonwealth.

They followed the guard's directions through town to the brahmin pen and found it tended by a short, athletically built woman. Her hair was in long, dark dreadlocks that she had tied back into a thick ponytail.

“Come now, sweetie pie, eat your breakfast. What’s gotten into you?” She was trying to coax a brahmin back to it’s feeding trough. 

“Excuse us.” She looked up as Nick spoke. “We’re looking for Marnie?”

Crinkles around her bright hazel eyes gave away her age- middle aged, like the guard. 

“That’d be me.” She wiped her hands on her worn, denim overalls and stood before them, hands on her hips. Nick noted a twitch of her eyebrow as she looked them over. He prepared himself for another tirade of distrust. It was a welcome relief when she didn’t make any off-color comments. “What can I do for you boys?”

“Well ma’am, we’re looking for a friend of ours. We were hoping we could ask you some questions.” He said.

“Just call me Marnie.” She said, waving a hand. “You’re Valentine, right? From Diamond City? Heard about you. You do good work.”

“Just doing my job.” Nick found himself untensing his shoulders. A dash of luck in the right places made all the difference. 

“Who’s this friend you’re looking for?” Marnie asked.

“Well, she-”

“She’s shorter than this bucket of bolts,” Hancock interrupted, “and at least twice as pretty. Green eyes, great smile. Likes to help.”

“Right.” Nick gave Hancock a glare that said _ let me do my job _ . "She would have been by about month or so ago. Name’s Sage Fairfield.”

Marnie’s face lit up when she heard the name.

“Sage! She was a dear. It was lucky she happened by when she did.”

“How long was she here? Do you know where she is?” Hancock said quickly. He was antsy for information. Nick pushed away the urge to evil-eye him again. His excitement was understandable.

“I’m sorry, she was only here for a couple days.” Marnie said sympathetically. “She helped out with a few things around town but one of our boys came back from scaving that train station out west saying he barely escaped a gang of Gunners. We can hold our own against raiders and whatnot, but you know Gunners. They’re a tough bunch; my wife even has a hard time with them.”

Nick nodded. The woman was telling a story and it would be rude to interrupt, though his circuitry buzzed with anticipation. Hancock felt much the same; he thought he might burst.

“Anyway, Sage said she’d check it out for us. She assured us she could hold her own against them. We were worried when she didn’t come back but the last scav group that checked out the station said they found a lot of dead Gunners. No sign of your girl, though.”

_ No sign of your girl.  _ That was mixed news if Hancock had ever heard it. It sure wasn’t a good sign that she hadn’t come back after handling the Gunners but it could be worse. They could have found her on the ground with them. They must be getting closer to the answer but he couldn’t shake the feeling it might not be an answer he liked.

“I guess that’s our next stop. Right, Nicky?” Hancock looked at him expectantly. He found the synth frowning intently.  
“Tell me about this train station. What’s it for? Do you know where it goes?”

“Yeah, there are signs all over it saying it’s for some crazy place called Nuka World. There’s even a radio broadcast about it but it’s pretty silly, if you ask me. I think it used to be some kind fun park before the war. Nowadays there’s rumors it’s overrun with raiders.”  
“Son of a _bitch_.” Nick cursed quietly. He took a breath and pulled out his cigarettes.

Hancock’s heart dropped. 

“You care to elaborate on that?” Hancock growled after a beat of silence. He was getting impatient. Anxious. Nick knew something, he was sure of it, and his reluctance to explain was driving him up the wall. 

Nick took a drag. He needed to piece his thoughts together.

“This Nuka World place. I think that’s where Sage is. I think that’s where she’s been the whole damn time. What MacCready said about raiders out west stood out, so I picked up some information in Goodneighbor. Daisy filled me in as best she could. My gut said these raiders must having something to do with our case, seeing as Sage being missing and these stories about a raider city are the only two things out of place.” He took a long drag. “I hoped my gut was wrong. Turns out we’re not so lucky.”

“You knew that the entire goddamn time? And didn’t think maybe you oughta share?” Hancock felt his shoulders tense as he clenched his fists.

“There’s a difference between  _ knowing _ and  _ speculation _ . I figured our time would be best spent looking into actual leads than following a gut feeling.” 

“What actual leads? All we’ve done is wander around half the Commonwealth! This is the only lead we got and you kept us in the dark. When was the last time your instincts were wrong, anyway?” 

“Hmph. Apparently when they said you could stop acting like a child.” Nick replied sharply. “You wanna play lead detective? Fine. What would you have us do?”

“If you’d told us about this bullshit sooner me and Fahrenheit coulda rallied the gang! Marched our asses out there and gotten her back! Instead we wasted two days looking for clues that weren’t there.”

“Your  _ gang _ can’t even keep itself together long enough to push the super mutants away from Goodneighbor. You really think they’d be disciplined enough to take on this godforsaken place? You’re outta your mind.”

“It’s just raiders-”

“We’re not talkin’ about some petty raider camp! It’s a whole damn city of raiders!” Nick’s frustration boiled over, showing more of his fear than he meant to. “You marching out there with your rabble would only get you killed. It’s bad odds for anyone.”

Hancock opened his mouth to shout something back but was cut off. MacCready stepped between them; He hadn’t realized how crowded they’d gotten. 

“Guys. Guys!” He sounded almost authoritative. Parental. “This isn’t fu- frickin’ helping. We still got a job to do. Sure, Valentine coulda mentioned this sooner but it doesn’t really matter. You yellin’ at each other ain’t gonna change that. We’re here now.” 

Hancock closed his mouth but didn’t drop his glare. MacCready was right but that wasn’t going to change how angry he was. Weren’t they supposed to be a team?  Nick had looked away from them both. Hands in his pockets, cigarette in his mouth. Brooding.

“Shouldn’t we, I don’t know, go check out this train station? She’s your missing friend, you might spot something the scavers missed.”

“It wouldn’t be a bad idea for you to leave.” Marnie piped up from behind them. She had backed away from them, not out of fear but to see to her livestock. “You boys are frightening my brahmin and the wife doesn’t take kindly to men shouting in my vicinity.”

Someone cleared their throat. The trio looked to sound and found the guardswoman holding a very mean-looking shotgun. 

“I thought I told you three not to cause trouble.” She spat. “Get out.”

“We were just leavin’ anyway.” Hancock said flatly.

“We’re sorry for the trouble, ma’am.” Nick said, nodding at Marnie. “We certainly owe you a favor.”

“Just don’t come back til you find Sage. That’ll be a favor enough.”

They walked through town and popped out the southwestern side. The guard had tailed them the whole way and stood on the outskirts watching them til they were out of sight. Hancock wasn’t sure why she thought it was necessary; they hadn’t threatened any townsfolk, just each other. Then again, he couldn’t blame her for being protective of her partner. At least they got what they came there for. Another clue, another direction.

MacCready took point as they headed west. Scouting was his strong suit and it payed off; it wasn’t long before he spotted a Gunner camp for them to avoid. Hancock followed beside Mac as they made their way through the woods. There were no roads where they were headed, just the dilapidated overpass to lead them the right direction. 

Nick trailed a long way behind them, smoking another cigarette and lost in thought. He didn’t know why he kept smoking. He enjoyed the smell of the smoke- the feel of it around him- but it wasn’t as if the nicotine did anything for him. It was a muscle memory, or at close to it as he could get. It was something the Old Nick did to stave off his nerves. That piece of his personality had survived the long years and now was ingrained into the old synth.

Nick needed something to calm his stormy thoughts. The cigarette wasn’t going to cut it but it was all he had. This case was rough. Too personal. It reminded him too much of the Old Nick’s last case. His single-minded pursuit of the truth lead to a piece of his soul being stolen from him. He  _ knew  _ how devastating that was. Sage wasn’t Jenny; he kept reminding himself of that. Losing her might be just as bad, though. Hancock wouldn’t know how to handle it. The man had already lost himself more than once. If Sage was gone, god forbid, Nick wasn’t sure he’d be able to save him from himself. 

Ahead of him, MacCready stopped. He crouched, then looked back and waved his hand at Nick, urging him forward. He ground out his cigarette and headed towards them, taking care in his movements. This wasn’t the time to snap a twig underfoot or trip over a rock. The overpass above them was coming down in an off-ramp. Through the trees they could make out the train station. Its bright reds stood out against the muted browns of the wasteland.

“What’ve you got?” Nick whispered. MaCready was peering through the scope on his rifle, silently murmuring to himself. 

“I count four- no, five- raiders. Ain’t like any I’ve seen before. Crazy colorful. Looks like they’re wearing fu- uh, messed up animal masks.” He glanced over at Hancock. “So, how do we want to do this?”

Hancock was checking the ammunition in his shotgun.

“You’ve got the sniper rifle and we’ve got higher ground.” He snapped the barrel back into place. “And the element of surprise. I say you start firing and we draw em’ to us.” 

“And if they run for cover instead?” Nick interjected.

“Raiders ain’t that smart. Besides, that’s what we have Mac for. It’s about time he earned his pay.”

“Sure thing, boss. Let me know when you’re ready.”

Nick hummed noncommittally. This plan had too many ways to go wrong but the last thing he needed was to get in another shouting match. He flicked open cylinder on his hand-canon. Everything was in its place. He gave Hancock a nod. 

“Light ‘em up, Mac.”

MacCready studied the raiders. Counted their weapons, estimated who would be the greatest threat. The world stood still for several moments. Nick and Hancock kept themselves close to the ground and held their breath.

He took a shot. 

“One down.” He said, chambering another round. “They’re excited now.” 

They could hear the smirk in his voice. Raiders were shouting, though they were too far away to make out the words. MacCready was statue-still for another few moments. Nick was pleasantly surprised; the way the young man liked to complain he wasn’t sure he had the temperment of a sniper. Sometimes it was nice to be proven wrong.

Another shot.

“There’s anoth- ah crap, they spotted us.” He refocused and quickly fired again. “Three down.”

The yelling became more directed and a savage barking joined the growing cacophony. Nick and Hancock stood, readying themselves for the attack. Three attack dogs charged up through the trees, their teeth barred and ready for their next meal. Mac blew one away before it got halfway up the shallow hill. Nick took several shots at another. Each bullet hit it’s mark, splattering blood against the undergrowth, but the beast kept going. One last shot got it right between the eyes. It finally collapsed and slid to stop at Nick’s feet. Hancock let the final dog get up close and personal before blasting his shotgun at the dog’s head.

A wild raider followed up behind the dogs. He screamed like an animal, swinging an ostentatiously painted baseball bat wrapped in chains. MacCready took a hit to his gut as he tried to fling himself away. Hancock repaid the raider in kind, hitting him in the back of the knees with the butt of his shotgun, then expertly flipped the gun in his hands. The raider met his messy end with the barrel against his temple.

Nick kneeled down with MacCready. He was gasping for breath. The powerful blow to his stomach had knocked the wind out him something fierce.

“You ok, kid?” He put a hand on MacCready’s shoulder. Nick could feel him shake as he struggled to breathe. After a few moments his lungs started cooperating again.

“Yeah,” He coughed, “I’m fine. Gonna leave one heck of a bruise, though.”

“I’ll say.” Nick said, helping the young man to his feet. “That was some fine shooting.”

“Best sniper in Goodneighbor.” MacCready replied as he checked his rifle. 

“You said there were five raiders, right? I count four on the ground.” Hancock said, reloading his shotgun.

“The last one hightailed it into the station when he saw they were losing.” Mac said. He stretched then put a hand to his side, wincing. Nick eyed him concerningly but MacCready waved him off. “I’m not gonna die before we find your girl. Just need to walk it off.”

Nick nodded, then got to reloading his revolver.

“We’ll need to be careful in there. This raider will know their way around the station. Prime opportunity to get the drop on us.” Nick said.

“Yeah, keep your eyes peeled.” Hancock added.

“It might not be a bad idea to try to capture him. See if he can’t tell us anything about what’s going on in Nuka World. Get a better feel for what we’re up against.”

Hancock grunted in response. Anger still burned in his chest. Of course Nick was right- he had a bad habit of being so- but he didn’t want to tell him that. Maybe he was being petty. Maybe Nick deserved it if he didn’t think Hancock was worth communicating with.

They headed down towards the station. They moved cautiously through the trees, trying to keep an eye out for any dangers they might have missed. One raider wasn’t too much of a threat but it was no use asking for trouble by being out in the open. They passed under the welcome arch; the eye catching red showed through the grime of ages. On either side of the road were strange characters, a humanized bottlecap and a soda bottle. An old memory stirred in Nick’s head; he and Jenny joking about the absurd advertisements for this place. Whatever charm those creatures had was long lost, and now they were downright creepy.

“A whole city devoted to a soda.” He grumbled. “Old world was a strange place.”

The bodies of the raiders MacCready has taken out were splayed out on the ground. Each wore unusually colorful armor and of masks of stylized animals- rats, birds, cats. 

“Who are these weirdos?” MacCready mumbled. 

“If we can take the last one alive we might just find out.” Nick answered quietly, surveying their surroundings. 

It was unnervingly still. A breeze picked up, sending bits of trash tumbling down the ruined streets. They peered into the crumbling parking garages. Neither were worth exploring; they were nothing but collapsed rubble. They picked their way down the street, hyper aware of their surroundings. They found themselves at the foot of a set of steps. The signs on the building before them marked it the Nuka World Transit Center, in all its debris-covered glory.  A look went between the trio; they hadn’t seen hide nor hair of the last raider. 

Nick approached the door, placed a finger to his lips, motioned the other two to ready themselves. The door opened with a creak, MacCready and Hancock aimed their guns at the space. Nothing was there. Nick watched their backs as they creeped deeper into the station. Footsteps pattered in the distance, echoing through the ruin. A distorted, unsettlingly happy music grew louder as they reached the bottom of the stairs. The station around them was a familiar scene of scrap and skeletons. They held their position for a few moments, carefully looking over their surroundings. 

The hair on the back of MacCready’s neck stood up. His companions shifted nervously, gripping their weapons tighter. This felt like a setup. 

The sound of shuffling feet and shifting stones drew their attention like a magnet. A click. A raider popped out from behind a stone wall for just a second, disappearing again as something landed at the trios feet.

“Grenade!” MacCready scuttled his feet backward as he kicked it away from them. Hancock grabbed him by the collar and yanked him backwards, dragging the three of them to the ground. 

The explosion rattled the world around them. The ringing in their ears was almost a relief from the eerily cheerful music. A barbaric battle cry rang out, nearly a roar. Out of the smoke and settling dust charged the raider, looking for all world like a painted deathclaw. He raised a shotgun and-

Three shots rang out in rapid succession. The raider stumbled away, clawing at his neck. He hit a railing behind him and leaned against it. A painful gurgling noise oozed out of the mask. A final shot ran out. The raiders head snapped backwards and he tumbled over the rail, collapsing on the ground. 

Nick reloaded his revolver. He sat on the steps where Hancock had pushed him down for cover. It was lucky he’d landed in just the right place to get a clear shot at the monster. Luck was a good ally to have but relying on it too heavily was asking for trouble; they were already having trouble a plenty.

“Well, there goes our informant,” he said as he stood up to shake the grit from his trench coat.

“Nice shooting, Valentine,” MacCready said, losing his usual snarky tone. He helped Hancock off the ground, who then dusted himself off. Nick shrugged off the compliment.

“Didn’t mean to hit his neck. Then I figured I oughta put him out his misery.” He didn’t holster his weapon but he fell into a more relaxed stance. “C’mon, let’s see what we can find.”

Nick spearheaded the search. He slowly and methodically walked through the station, making note of the layout and looking for anything that seemed out of place. Hancock and Mac searched in their own way but mostly conceded to the detective’s instincts. They didn’t split too far from one another, Hancock sticking particularly close to Nick. He was going to make damn sure Nick couldn’t hide any more information from him. 

Nick found a checkout counter with old cash registers and covered in paper tickets. Behind it was a small room with a broken protectron docking station and busted machinery. The door- which read  _ Employees Only-  _ was unlocked, slightly ajar. He pushed it open and stepped through the room. Against the far wall was a single working terminal with a few words blinking at the top of the screen. There was a strange scene arranged on top of the computer. A single holotape laying between two empty Nuka Cola bottles. It almost looked like it had been staged. Something to get their attention. His eyes flicked down the monitor. The corner of his mouth quirked up into a tiny smile.

“Whatcha got there?” Hancock rasped. Nick glanced back at the ghoul, ready to answer, when something caught his eye. The glint of a gun barrel. It stuck out of a broken window on a monorail car. In the shadows he could see another one of those damned animal masks.

“Move!” Nick turned quickly and shoved himself into Hancock. He was thrown to ground as a shot went off, with Nick standing in his place. 

Simulated pain fired through the circuits of Nick’s shoulder. He crashed back into the machinery. One of the empty bottles knocked was from its perch and shattered on impact. 

“Ah, shit!” Nick growled. He slid to the ground clutching his arm.

Hancock was stunned for a moment. Time felt like it was moving in slow motion. He sat up on his elbows and looked at Nick, who was grimacing with his back against the wall. Reality caught up with him and he shook himself from his daze. Someone was shooting at them. He picked his shotgun up and tried to look over the counter while still giving himself cover. He spotted MacCready pressing his back up against a wall, rifle at the ready. MacCready stared at him, trying to wordlessly communicate. Hancock nodded at him. 

More shots went off as Hancock ducked back down. The unmistakable crack of MacCready’s rifle rang out. Hancock pushed himself up, pointed his gun, and squeezed the trigger. He didn’t expect to hit the raider, he just needed to make some noise. He bolted out the doorway and slammed his back against the nearest concrete pillar. He could feel the impact of more bullets against the other side. He was level with MacCready now and just a little closer. 

“When he reloads, charge him.” Hancock whispered at him, hoping he could read lips. MacCready nodded; he seemed to get the message. 

Hancock shot another barrage at their attacker. A few more answered him, then an empty click. 

“Now!” Hancock shouted, then pushed himself round the pillar. 

MacCready made a dash for the monorail car. He tripped and rolled inside the door, landing hard on his back. The raider was smaller than the others they’d fought and wore a black bird mask. Part of him realized the raider was a female; the rest of him didn’t care. She turned to him jerkily. The assault rifle fell out of her hands; she was out of time to reload. She went to draw some holdout weapon but MacCready was faster. He hastily raised his rifle from his position on the floor and squeezed off another shot. The sound was thunderous in the small space. MacCready couldn’t hear the raider cry out as she recoiled away from him. Hancock screamed through the doorway and threw himself at the raider. She dodged him, then finding herself trapped against a wall. Blood dripped down her now useless left arm as it hung at her side. She tried raising the piston in her right hand but didn’t get far. Hancock closed the distance between them and cracked the side of the head with the butt of his shotgun. She fell with a thud.

The stillness was sudden. Blood pounded in their ears as they caught their breath. Hancock extended his hand toward MacCready, helping him off the ground

“That sure happened.” MacCready said as he dusted himself off.

“Coulda been worse.” Hancock replied. “Do me a favor and make sure she ain’t dead.”

MacCready nodded and got to work. Hancock turned back to the ticketing office. Nick had pulled himself off the ground and was taking stock of the damage. His arm wasn’t hanging loosely but it sure didn’t want to be move the way it used to.

“Well, there goes my good arm.” He mumbled. His shoulder seemed to stutter as he tried to move it, like a machine with jammed gears.

“Christ, Nick. You didn’t have to take a fucking bullet for me.” Hancock pulled out his cigarettes and offered one to Nick, who took it graciously. “You gonna be ok? How does someone like you handle this kinda damage?”

“I’ve figured it out over the years. Most things I can fix myself. I’d usually go to Dr. Amari for this kinda repair job.” He lit his smoke and took a drag. “It’s hard to get all pieces out on your own and get everything back in place.”

Hancock nodded. It wasn’t too dissimilar from some of his own experiences. 

“You guys having fun standing around?” MacCready broke their moment of quiet, showing up to lean against the counter. “Cause’ I got our new friend taken care of. Made sure she wouldn’t bleed out before we could chat with her and used some old duct tape to tie her up.”

“Good work.” Hancock said as he blew out some smoke. “She awake yet?”

MacCready shrugged.

“She’s groaning a little, I guess.”

“That’s a start. Let’s go see how she’s feeling.” Nick said, tapping the ash off his cigarette.

MacCready lead them back inside the monorail car. The raider was sitting back in a seat, her ankles and wrists duct taped. Her bird mask was on the ground and a purple-yellow bruise was forming over the right side of her face. Though her mask was black her armor was a mishmash of clashing colors. More tape and cloth were wound around her left upper arm but a deep red stain still slowly seeped through.

“Jesus,” Nick murmured, “she’s just a kid.”

Hancock glanced at Nick then back at the girl. He was right. She looked maybe twenty years old, probably younger. Her exposed skin was tan and dirty. Hancock wondered where all her scars came from; some were definitely battle damage but others looked like they were from a different kind of fight. 

“Don’t go too easy on her. She did shoot you.” MacCready said, lighting a cigarette. “Woulda shot any of us if she had the chance.”

Nick hummed in acknowledgement. It was true that this girl wasn’t helpless. She’d survived at least few years of the raider life and that takes a certain kind of strength. He couldn’t shake his unease with this situation, though. He never did like seeing young women tied up like this; he was old-fashioned that way.

She groaned, squeezing her eyes shut and scrunching her face as she rolled her head around her shoulders. She tried to move, weakly struggling at her restraints. She started moving jerkily, frantically, until her eyes snapped open. She gasped, pulling in air like she was drowning, her eyes wide with panic. 

“Who the fuck- what are-” She stuttered out as she fought the tape around her wrists. Her eyes fell on Nick and for a moment she was silent. “Oh my shitting hell. You’re a synth.”

Nick was used to the hatred. It was the fear that bothered him more than that.

“What do you want with me? You can’t - I’m not-” She was getting hysterical. She desperately tried to get away from the men standing around her. “I’m no one! I’m nothing!”

“Calm down, kid.” Hancock said finally. “We ain’t here to drag you off to the Institute. Institute’s gone, anyway.”

“Then what do you want with me?” She said after a beat of silence. They could almost hear her heart pounding in her chest. Something in her eyes pulled at Nick’s heart. This girl had seen some things. Wasteland was full of monsters. As a raider, she must have seen them a little too closely.

“We just want to ask you some questions.” Nick said. He didn’t use his fully authoritative voice. She was already terrified. It didn’t take being a detective to see she’d been badly hurt before and he needed her to understand this wasn’t about that. Raider or not, this required a soft touch. “Think you can you do that? Answer some questions?” 

The girl stared at him. She was still tense, still pushed as far away from them as she could manage. She swallowed her panic and nodded once.

MacCready scoffed.  
“She’s playing you, Valentine. She’s just a raider. You don’t need to try so hard.”

“Go stand watch or something, Mac. We can handle this.” Hancock growled.

Mac didn’t respond but he gathered his rifle and left the train car. Hancock was using a voice even he knew not to talk back to.

Nick took another drag and shook his head. How could such a good sniper be so damn impatient? He looked back at the girl. She watched him intently, unmoving, like prey backed into a corner.

“We’re gonna start easy. What’s your name? How old are you?”

“Pepper.” She answered, glancing between the two of them. “I’m eighteen, I think. Don’t know exactly when my birthday is.”

“That’s a good start. Now, what gang are you with? We haven’t seen raiders wearing these get-ups before.”

“I- I’m with The Pack. We follow the Alpha.”

“That’s a new one.” Nick said, grinding his cigarette butt into the ground. “How long have you been a raider?”

“Nick.” Hancock grumbled. He could see as easily as Nick the kind of hell this girl had lived through but were these questions really necessary?  Weren’t there more important things to be asking? Nick just ignored him. The girl was talking and that’s what mattered.

“A couple years. Joining them seemed like a better idea than waiting around for them to, uh, to do what they do best.”  
“How’s that worked out for you?” Hancock interjected.

“How the fuck do you think?” Pepper said with surprising venom. “I’m at the bottom of the pecking order. I’m nothing. Just a bitch.”

“You and these other raiders, you came from Nuka World?” Nick asked; she just nodded in response. “What can you tell me about the place?”  
“I, uh, there’s two other gangs but they’re both shit. The park is real big up but til now we’ve been crammed in the same area. The new Overboss got the other parks cleared out though, so we’re moving into the ones we got assigned.”

“New overboss?” Nick asked, following the line of questioning.

“Yeah, some crazy wastelander survived the Gauntlet and killed Colter. Gage said she was the Overboss so she is.” 

Hancock perked up and looked sharply at Nick. 

“Tell me about this crazy wastelander.” Nick said. He tried to keep his voice even. Part of him wanted to believe it was Sage, but why would she decide to throw in with a bunch of raiders? That didn’t make a lick of sense.

Pepper shrugged as best she could while tied up.

“Not much I can tell you. I was stuck on shit cleaning duty and didn’t get to see the fight. I guess she’s doing a good job, though. Our Alpha sent us out here to start doing recon. He says it’s almost time to show the Commonwealth what it’s got coming. I think he wanted to impress the Overboss by being ahead of the game.”

“What about her name? Or- or what she looks like?” Hancock asked, a little too urgently. He was pulling hard on this thread, harder than Nick would like him to. Pepper didn’t seem like a threat but that didn’t mean they needed to show her their hand.

“Don’t know. She’s been busy with Gage working on the parks. Don’t get to see much down at the bottom of the food chain. All I know is she’s in charge.”

“Anyone else show up in the last couple months?” Hancock ventured.

“Not really. Most people don’t make it past the Gauntlet. Anyone comes in a different way and makes a fuss about how we run the place gets put to work.” She paused; she looked almost apologetic at Hancock’s worried frown. “I mean, I’m not really part of the welcome committee. I’m too busy with dirty work to meet every poor fucker that wanders into Nuka World.”

Nick rubbed his jaw absentmindedly as he listened. These puzzle pieces just didn’t fit. He was sure Sage was out there somewhere, but Sage would never side with a pack of bloodthirsty raiders.

_ Not unless it was her only way to survive,  _ Nick thought. That was the key, wasn’t it? He nodded to himself and looked over at Hancock. He was fuming. The pieces hadn’t clicked yet for him. 

“Have MacCready stand guard on the train car,” He said, “and tell him to have some manners, for goodness sake.”

Hancock opened his mouth- maybe not to argue, but definitely to question. Nick cut him off.

“Come back to that office we found. We’ll talk there.” 

“So damn vague…” Hancock grumbled as Nick walked off. He relayed the instructions to Mac and followed behind the detective a moment later. Nick was standing in front of the terminal flipping a holotape between his fingers. 

“What’s this about?” Hancock asked. “Did we finally catch a break?”

“Well, in the excitement I nearly forgot about this clue Sage left us.” He said, tossing Hancock the holotape.

“What? How do you know it’s hers? Did you listen to it already?”

“No, but she’s a smart one. It was clearly placed so that  _ someone _ would find it. And,” he gestured to the computer monitor, “there’s this.”

Hancock stepped up to get a closer look. A few short words blinked on the screen. It was just enough to evaporate a tiny bit of the weight that had settled on him over the last two weeks. He smiled. 

 

_ Don’t worry. - SF _

 

“Ain’t that just like her.” He said softly. “Now, let’s see what this holotape has to say.”

He slid the holotape into the slot. His heart beat hard in his chest. He missed Sage’s voice- he missed all of her, everything about her- but what if she sounded hurt? What if she said “don’t come after me”? The few seconds while the terminal loaded were agony. And then with a click, it started, sounding like Hancock’s favorite song.

“This is Sage Fairfield, of the Minutemen and Railroad. I came out to this transit center to investigate and I found a man who told me he and his family were being held against their will by raiders out at Nuka World.” She paused as she took a deep breath. “Honestly it’s probably a terrible idea for me to go out there on my own. I don’t know what I’m walking into. But there are people who  _ need help _ and I don’t know how much time they have. If you’re listening to this that means I haven’t been able to come back for it. Please take this tape to Preston Garvey in Sanctuary. It’s a small settlement north of here, past the Drumlin Diner. He’ll know what to do.” There was another pause, a breathy chuckle. “Preston: Send word to my friends in Diamond City and Goodneighbor. They’re probably worried sick. And they’ll be a great help with whatever mess I’ve gotten myself into.”

The tape ended. Hancock ejected it before it started over again.

“Aw, Sunshine,” he murmured. “Helpful to a fault, ain’t ya?”

“Normally I’d say that’s a great problem to have, but under the circumstances…” Nick said with a tired smile. He’d felt the same relief Hancock had at her voice. Some light snark was the best way for him to handle that feeling. This explanation made everything fall into place. Of course Sage would pull this kind of stunt. It was just like her to jump in, head first, without a second thought.

It was probably going to get her killed one of these days. Hopefully that hadn’t happened just yet.

“We’d better head out. Sanctuary isn’t too far but I’d rather get there sooner than later.” Nick said.

“Sounds good. What about the girl?” 

“Bring her with us. She might not know much about our girl but I’m sure she knows plenty about Nuka World. We’re gonna need all the information we can get on that hellhole.” Nick looked past the counter, towards the monorail car. MacCready leaned against it, looking like a kid in time out. “It’s not as if we could just leave her here, anyhow. I’m sure we can find a place for her in Sanctuary.”

Hancock nodded. He figured that would be the answer.

“Hey, Mac!” Hancock called out. “It’s time to hit the road.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about that animal death tw, but you know how raiders are. Chapter 3 is in the works but it's gonna be a Doozy. I might even have to split it up and make chapter 4 the Finale, but we'll see how it goes. Bear with me if things take a while.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sage has been missing for almost two months now. While her dear friends have been up and down the Commonwealth looking for clues, she's been doing dirty work for the raiders of Nuka World. She'd have thought being the Overboss would come with some nice perks, but having morals limits what benefits she could reap. Not that she even wants to be here. The raiders are surprisingly reluctant to let her leave despite their disdain for her.
> 
> And then there's Porter Gage, who is his own special kind of problem. 
> 
> All Sage wants is to find a way out of this mess before things get too far.

It wasn’t the first time Sage missed the luxury of a hot shower. She’d gotten more or less over the loss of the amenities of the old world but there were some she just couldn’t let go of. Sitting in the Fizztop Grill covered in grime, sweat, and blood, she felt like she’d trade all the caps in the world for a steamy bath and a sweet-smelling soap.

It wasn’t as if Nuka World alone was this gruesome. Most of the wasteland was. It sure was easier to get a decent- if cold- bath in Diamond City, though.

Sage sighed and grabbed a beer from her stash. She hadn’t liked beer much before, even less now, but after more than a month of being surrounded by Nuka Cola she’d rather drink almost anything else than the ancient soda.

The tattered couch creaked as she dropped herself onto it. She wondered how much longer she was going to be stuck out here or if her friends back home were worried. Scratch that; of course they were worried. Hancock was probably in a tizzy. She said she’d be home in a week and it had been almost two months. What she really wanted to know was what they were doing about it. Part of her hoped they’d get that message she left but now that she knew what this place was, she almost regretted leaving the Commonwealth. Anyone coming out here would be walking into a death trap. If she could only get away from this place she’d be able to come back with a few tricks up her sleeve.

She and Gage had finished clearing out all the parks a few days ago. With the messiest parts of the job done it seemed likely she’d be almost out of usefulness to the raiders. Gage insisted they needed a leader or else the gangs would tear each other apart but Sage struggled to see how she could put a stop to that. It was in their nature. But they did, at long last, have their little kingdoms. Maybe she could finally finagle a way out of this nightmare.

The door to the back room slammed shut and jolted Sage from her thoughts.

“Hey, boss,” Gage said. “You got a minute?”

“Of course. Grab a drink,” she replied.

He strolled to the bar and rifled through the bottles for something not terrible. His armor had been shed, revealing his stained and tattered tank top. Sage wondered when the last time it was cleaned.  

She hadn’t liked Gage at first. She didn’t have a reason to; it was his machinations that has lured her out to this place and forced her into a terrible job she didn’t want. It took some time for her to start trusting him. To his credit, he was pretty understanding about her misgivings. He’d laughed it off once, while they were neck-deep in strategizing how to keep the gangs at least kind of under control, saying if they’d swapped places he wouldn’t trust him either. That was probably the turning point.

Even so, she hadn’t meant to get so friendly with him. To play this game and survive she’d had to armor herself in more ways than one. This ruthless persona she’d taken on was no fun to act out, but after being around Gage so long she let her walls down a little bit. She could never let him really know her- know how much she hated this place and hated raiders- but having one person she didn’t have to be The Overboss to all the time was a nice respite. She knew being soft with him was going to bite her in the ass sooner or later. She couldn’t help it; as much as it was raiders’ nature to be cruel, it was hers to be kind.

Gage settled on a drink and took a seat across from Sage. He leaned back, one arm spread over the back of the couch and the other holding the beer on his lap.

“What’s on your mind?” she asked as he took a drink.  

“Well first, my congratulations on getting done what Colter never did. Can’t believe he sat on his ass for a year and you got this place cleaned up in just over a month. But you know what they say-” he smirked, “-ain’t no rest for the wicked. We still got work to do.”

He spoke like a politician. This speech was meant to butter her up. She thought it was funny; sometimes he forgot she was much more reasonable than the people he was used to dealing with.

“Alright,” she said, motioning him to continue. “What to we need to do?”

“It’s time to set our sights on the Commonwealth.”

Sage gasped mid-drink and inhaled a mouthful of beer. She hunched over, choking painfully. Through her sputtering and coughing she could barely hear Gage speaking to her, with concerned laughter in his voice.

“Shit boss, you ok? Not dyin’ on me, are you?”

The hacking coughs persisted for another moment but at last her throat cleared.  She could feel her heart pounding in her chest and she wasn’t sure if it was from choking or how nervous she was. It was probably both. She waved him on to keep talking while she caught her breath. He eyed her with some worry but the corner of his mouth was quirked up into an entertained smile.

“I’m fine,” she said roughly. “What were you saying?”

“If you say so, boss,” he said with a roll of his shoulders. “Like I said, it’s time to start planning our moves on the Commonwealth. Figure which settlements we want to hit.”

“Already? I mean, we only just finished up with the park,” she replied.

“Don’t get lazy, boss. That’s where Colter went wrong,” he teased, only half-serious. “We got the park now, sure, but it ain’t gonna be long before the gangs get antsy. I’m surprised the Disciples haven’t started shit as it is.”

It was always the Disciples. The rest of these gangs could probably be reasoned with- even The Pack, though that might only be because Sage had put Mason in his place right off the bat. Nisha, on the other hand, was like a cat. She answered to no one and acted as though she were vicious royalty.

“Alright, fair enough. But don’t call me lazy. I am your boss, after all,” she teased back, trying to hold in the growing tide of her panic. Letting him know how she really felt about this would be a disaster. “So what are you plans? You wouldn’t come to me with this if you didn’t already have some ideas.”

“First thing’s first, we go talk to our man Shank. He’s a caravaner, has his ear to the ground. He’ll have good information,” he grinned, revealing a smile of rotten teeth. “From there we decide where to put our outposts and start doing what we do best.”

She did her best to feign excitement but she felt like she was barely hiding her apprehension. A proper warlord would be very invested in this next step. Following Gage’s plan would at least put her back in the Commonwealth- but at what cost?

“Tell me about Shank. You say he’s a caravaner?”

“Works the route between us and the Commonwealth. Ain’t like we can just go out and make deals. Picks up the news and knows which towns would be easy pickings. Useful guy to keep around,” Gage answered.

An idea struck her, one she needed to play it close to the chest. First she needed more information.

“Is he around now? How long is he usually on the road?” Sage asked.

“Usually a couple weeks at a time. But, as luck would have it, he’s in town. Been informed he’s down in the market, just itching to meet the new Overboss.”

Sage wondered if this guy would have heard of her. Even Travis reported on her doings- never by name and sometimes weeks after the fact- but the Vault Dweller was still a known quantity. If he had, would he say something? Surely he’d wonder what the savior of the Minutemen was doing in Nuka World. That would be something to deal with in the future, she supposed. She could lie easily enough if it came down to it.

“Then I guess we should go have a chat with him, huh?” She tilted her head back and drank down the rest of the warm beer. She looked back at him, eager to get going, and found him still watching her, lost in thought. It wasn’t often she caught him so pensive.

She knew she shouldn’t pull on it. Gage was the closest thing she had to a friend in Nuka World but if she ever got her way she’d never see him again. Cutting ties and forgetting this whole ordeal was the best case scenario. Even now she was uneasy. But, for better or worse, wanting to help was part of who she was. It couldn’t get her into worse trouble than it already had, anyway.

“Hey, what’s up? You’re staring at me like I’m changing colors.”

He shook from his thoughts and looked away from her, staring hard at the beer bottle in his hands

“Sorry, boss. It’s just, uh,” he swallowed, then found enough willpower to keep going. “You know, when you first came out here I wasn’t sure what to make of you. I was startin’ think no one would ever make it through that damn Gauntlet. Even if they did, there’d be no guarantee they’d make a decent Overboss. And your run started so slow it damn near boring- wasn’t sure you’d have the temperament to be the Boss.”

She settled in. The empty beer bottle was put aside, and she leaned forward with her elbows on her knees. This didn’t have anything to do with strategy or the gangs, this was about him. She needed to listen.

“But you sure as hell proved me wrong. Proved all the other leaders wrong too. It’s been- I mean, us workin’ together like this- it’s been a damn good time. You’re a better Overboss than I coulda hoped and you handle yourself better than most. But more than that, I know you’ve got my back,” his one good eye met hers for a moment then looked away again, as if this was the hardest thing in the world to say. “I trust you and that’s more than I can say about anyone else.”

Sage was touched. Of all the things he could have said, that certainly wasn’t what she expected. But god, this was bad. She should have tried harder to be a bastard. She never should have let this raider know she had _feelings_.

“I- That’s-” she cleared her throat. “I appreciate that but, uh, let’s roll it back a little. Keep things professional.”

“Sorry boss, it ain’t nothin’ like that.”

She saw some blush rise in his tan cheeks as he looked away, scratching his neck. _Oh god_ , she thought, _it is like that_.

“All I meant is you can’t trust most raiders. They’re all out for themselves. You know, I made some shit choices when I was kid, trusted the wrong people. Damn near got me killed. Since then I ain’t trusted anyone beyond what use they could be. But you- you’re the real deal. You’re a leader worth fightin’ for,” he let out a short cough. “Fightin’ _with_ , I mean. Don’t mean to make it weird or nothin’. Just thinking we make a real good team is all.”

_This is it. This is the nightmare scenario_ , she thought.

She fought for the right words. How was she supposed respond to a grizzled raider apparently baring his soul at her? Guilt boiled up in her for never quite thinking of raiders as people. Buy why should she? Their entire way of life was built on destroying the hard work of others. She reminded herself they had just been talking about how to best start their conquest of the innocent people of the Commonwealth. Raiders were like Deathclaws: violent, unmanageable, and out for themselves.

But maybe this one could be tamed.

“That- that means a lot, Gage. You’re right, we do make a good team. I only survived here this long because of you, even if it was your scheme that dragged me out here,” she said with a smirk. “I’m lucky to have you as my right-hand man.”

She stood up and stretched, hoping to get away from this conversation.

“But I believe you mentioned there’s work to do. Let’s pack up these dumbass feelings and get a move on.”  

“You got it, boss,” Gage gulped down the rest of his beer. Apparently he was as ready to get away from this discussion as she was.

Sage’s thoughts were a maelstrom as she got ready to face Nuka World. She and Gage could relax in the Fizztop but they couldn’t let other raiders see them looking like tourists. She was excited to talk to Shank. She’d been away from the Commonwealth so long. News from home might ease her anxiety about being stuck here. She had an idea that might help her get away, but she needed more information first. Playing the part of a warlord was key.

But she felt responsible for Gage. Damn her for being so _likeable_. She hated that Gage’s fate weighed so heavily on her mind. There were slaves out here, for goodness sake! She needed to get home to make a real plan to come free them. If Nuka World was the hill Gage would choose to die on then so be it. He’d chosen the raider life.

Sage couldn’t help but hope that if she played her cards right she could save him, too. It was in her nature.      


 

* * *

 

 

Sage paced around the inside of the bar enclosure. Four stools leaned up against the counter with an empty glass waiting at each seat. She paused to pour a drink- a shot or two of whiskey, topped with Nuka Cola. These whiskey bombs had been growing on her. Maybe it was because adding alcohol to the ancient soda made it somewhat palatable. Maybe it was that she constantly needed something to cut her nerves, tonight more than usual.

Meeting with Shank had gone well enough. He was a sleazy little man but he knew what he was doing. Sage read the inquisitive look in his eye as he gave her a once-over as recognition but, to her relief, he didn’t say anything. That was something she could deal with later if she needed to. Regardless, his familiarity with the Commonwealth was pretty impressive. The discussion had given her just what she needed. After a few hours of letting her budding plan roll around her head, she brought it up to Gage.

Then came the real debate. After a full day of stubbornness and arguing, here they were.

She still couldn’t believe Gage was making her deal with this. He’d left to deliver a message to each gang leader: It was time for a chat with the Overboss. He wasn’t too pleased about being an errand boy but that was his penance for insisting on this meeting. She would have been more than fine going forward with her plan without consulting them. Shouldn’t the Overboss get to do what she wants? Weren’t they supposed to answer to her? She’d have thought doing all they work they’d asked of her would grant her a little respect.

Gage had a point, of course, as he always did. He was a smart man. There was a reason he’d made a habit of setting himself up as the top advisor. Her leaving Nuka World to go on this kind excursion could make her look weak to the other bosses. Not that she cared; if she got her way she wouldn’t be the Overboss for much longer. But she did need to keep this believable. If they suspected she was going to abandon the place- or come back with troops of own- they might not be so amiable. Even after she and Gage put their lives on the line to get this goddamn park cleaned out these raiders could still be out for her blood.

She was pulled from her musing by the rattle of the elevator. Gage was making his way back up. He stood facing away from her, watching the sun set over Nuka World. She could only imagine he felt like he was watching over a kingdom. There was a twang of guilt in her stomach which she promptly drowned with more whiskey.

“How’re we looking, Gage?” she said as the elevator shuddered to stop.

“Not bad. Those ingrates all made a show of how they’re doing you a favor by stopping by but they did agree to show. That’s about the best we could ask for.” He crossed the room and faced her from the other side of the bar. There was a quiet moment while he lit a smoke and she took another drink. “You sure this is a good idea?”

The radio played lazily in the background. RedEye was babbling incoherently, as usual. Sage never expected to miss the anxious mumblings of Travis from the Diamond City Radio. It was too bad the signal didn’t reach this far. There was a lot she missed about the Commonwealth, not the least of which was her favorite radio station. Gage stood in front of her expecting an answer. She looked past him and took a sip.

“I certainly don’t think it’s a bad idea,” she said finally. “Otherwise I wouldn’t have suggested it.”

“That ain’t what I meant-” Gage started, trying to backpedal.

“No, I know what you meant. But honestly I just- I just need to stretch my legs a bit, you know? I need to get out there so I can keep the right perspective,” she said, paraphrasing something Hancock had said to her ages ago.

“Yeah, but-” This time he was interrupted by the elevator screeching to life as someone called it down to the ground.

“Sounds like they’re on their way up.” Sage summoned her best steely gaze. “This meeting is about making sure those fuckers know I’m in charge, whether I’m here or not. Keep your doubts to yourself.”

He frowned and kept his mouth shut. Sage almost wanted to demand a “yes, boss” from him. She did value his advice- he was the closest thing she had to friend here- but he did put _her_ in charge. Apparently she needed this meeting to remind him of that, too.

Another sickly feeling rose in her stomach. It didn’t matter if these people respected her or not; she was trying to escape. It drove her crazy how being the Overboss was getting to her. The raider life was getting in her head and she hated it. She hated how on edge she had to be and the total ruthlessness that was demanded of her. More than that, it scared her how easy it had been to become this person. She could be more relaxed when it was just Gage, but interacting with the other bosses meant she had to be tough as nails. Show no weakness. The exhausting act was getting easier every day. It was terrifying. The charade was getting too real.

Her guests appeared. Mason, the alpha of The Pack, and Nisha of the Disciples were the first to show. Standing on opposite ends of the elevator, they seemed torn between their repulsion and their childish desire to deny the other the satisfaction of being the first to arrive. Their gangs lived by similar rules- survival of the fittest, kill or be killed- but the relative anarchy of The Pack clashed with detached nature of the Disciples.

They approached the bar and took the stools on each end, leaving two empty seats between them. Part of Sage wanted to laugh at how dramatic they were being. It was these petty squabbles, these trivial power trips that she was getting so tired of. Though at least they had the decency to keep it together enough for this meeting. Right now, anyway.

“Welcome to the Fizztop,” Sage said, raising her glass at them. She got a nod from Mason and a haughty sniff from Nisha.

The elevator rattled to life again as it was called back down the ground. Sage could only assume it marked the arrival of the Operators.

“What exactly is this about?” Nisha asked curtly. She sat up straight with crossed arms, tapping her fingers against her elbow. “Gage didn’t feel the need to elaborate much.”

Sage took another drink. Nisha hadn’t been here two minutes and she was already irritable. It was no wonder Sage had taken to whiskey so well over the last few weeks.

“I’m not a fan of repeating myself, so let’s say we wait another _thirty seconds_ for the rest the party to get here.” Sage hadn’t bothered to look at Nisha as she answered. Everything had to be a power play here. Every subtle movement could be an indication of weakness if she didn’t play her cards right.

She noted a smirk on Mason’s face. That was a good sign. She got the feeling Mason respected her more than he did Nisha, meaning showing the Disciples who’s boss would give her more standing.

A moment later Mags and William Black reached the the Fizztop Grill. They stepped off the elevator and took their seats at the bar. Gage placed himself in the corner of the bar, behind Sage and close enough to handle any trouble.

“Well?” Nisha demanded impatiently.

Sage finished off her drink.

“Well,” she started, “the park is cleaned out. You all have your nice new bases-”

“Though you weren’t exactly subtle about which of us you favor more,” Nisha said, already trying to pick a fight.

“Excuse the fuck outta me,” Sage said, unwilling to put up with this attitude, “for not being here two hundred years ago to make sure the number of parks they built was divisible by three. Can I continue? Or do you want to keep bitching?”

Gage stifled a laugh. Mason didn’t bother trying to cover his cackling. Even the Blacks got a chuckle out of it. Nisha, on the other hand, bristled like a pissed off cat; Sage just talked over her. Putting the Disciples in their place was something she enjoyed more than she should. The most respect they’d shown her had been them not actively trying to murder her. That’s not a great way to treat your boss.

“Anyway, the job here at the park is done. That means the next step is extending our reach out to the Commonwealth.” _Play the part_ , she thought to herself. _This is what they want, this what you want._

“Gage and I had a chat with Shank yesterday on the goings-on out that way. I’ll admit he does have his finger on the pulse, but before I make any solid decisions I’m going to do some personal reconnaissance.” _I’m going to_ , she thought, _I’m not asking permission_. Those small implications that showed them she was in charge.

“Personal recon?” Mags said, almost scoffing. “You want to do the dirty work yourself? That’s a surprise.”

“I’ve been doing the dirty work since I got here,” Sage replied. “It’ll be easier for me to see which settlements are ripe for the taking. I was a, uh, mercenary, we’ll say, before I came out here. A lot of them know me. Don’t have any reason to distrust me. I can decide which town I want first, weaken it from the inside, then come back here to get a party together.”

“Still seems kinda below someone of your standing, boss,” Mason said. “If you don’t want to rely on Shanks word we can put together our own team. Come back with whatever information you need.”

“Oh, does the dog have a new master?” Nisha spoke up, needling Mason. “Willing to fetch your new mistress whatever she desires? What would your gang do, knowing their great alpha was submitting-”

“I ain’t submitting to anyone. Being a leader means divvying work out so you don’t have to deal with the petty shit yourself. But being petty is your favorite part, ain’t it?” Mason spat back.

Mags and William rolled their eyes as they scooted their stools away from the bar. Being in between these two bickering beasts seemed like a bad idea. Why they had agreed to work with these idiots was beyond them. Everyone makes bad investments from time to time but, god damn, what had they been thinking?

Furthermore, what was their Overboss playing at?

Nisha and Mason continued shouting abuse at each other. Mason stood, knocking his stool to the ground and Nisha lithely jumped to her feet. Their childish arguing was ready to turn into a real fight and Sage did not have the patience for it.

“Hey, hey!” Sage grabbed an empty Nuka Cola bottle and smashed it on the ground. The shattering silenced all of them. She drew their eyes like beacon. “I did not invite you up here to host a blood bath in my apartment!”

Gage had been ready to stop the brawl if necessary. The smashed bottle had caught him by surprise as much as the others. He leaned back and let her finish. He’d be here if she needed him but part of him wondered if she ever really did.

The air felt tight around them. Mason and Nisha stood, still scowling at each other. A sudden move from anyone could set them off light a powder keg. Sage straightened herself up and crossed her arms. She drew a breath and summoned the most authoritarian voice she could find.

“You barbarians don’t have to like each other. Once we get out to the Commonwealth, you don’t even have to work together. But you cannot let this bullshit get in the way of getting what’s ours. If you break the agreement in here, right now, not only will you have wasted all the time I spent cleaning up this fucking place, you’ll have wasted the entire year _you_ spent here.”

Mags and William almost looked impressed. Mason and Nisha couldn’t temper their hatred for one another but the boss did have a good point. Mason was the first to take his seat, barely restraining a snarl. Nisha slid back into her seat with an expression as cold and bitter as mid-winter.  

“Thank you. Now, I’m not here to ask for your approval. I’ve got my way of doing things and considering you’ve all finally got your little kingdoms to play with, _my way_ seems to work just fucking fine. All you bastards need to do is keep it together until I get back. Then you can start having as much fun in the Commonwealth as you want.” Sage grabbed a bottle of whiskey and poured herself another drink. “I’ve been stuck out here for almost two months. Is it really that unreasonable that I might need a break from your company?”

A silence settled over them. She stood before the raiders, sipping on her glass of whiskey. Mason was the first to move. He reached for a bottle of whiskey and popped open the top. He didn’t bother with a glass.

“See, that’s something I’ll drink to,” he said, taking a swig. “It’s a hard thing to keep wild animals caged up for a long. The Pack understands that.”

“I suppose it makes as much sense as anything,” Mags said with her brother nodding beside her. “Things have been going well enough. As long as we start raking in caps soon I don’t see a problem with it.”

“Who’s in charge while you’re away, Overboss?” Nisha asked, sounding like a snake. “And for that matter, how long do you expect to be gone?”

“I’m planning on no more than two weeks. Long enough to decide what settlement we’re gonna take, mess with it, and get back here,” Sage replied. “And Gage will be in charge, obviously. That’s what the Second-In-Command is for.”

“Fine.” Nisha’s stool scraped against the floor as she stood, punctuating the word. “We’ll play nice until your return. But if you don’t start showing the Disciples the respect we deserve-”

“Respect is a two way street, Nisha,” Sage said flatly. “But don’t worry. As soon as I get back the Disciples will have their chance to strike some fear in the Commonwealth.”

That must have been a good enough answer. Her sneer almost softened to a smile. Almost. She left without another word, riding the rickety elevator back down to the ground.

“There aren’t many people who can shut her up,” Mags said. She and William also stood. “At least this meeting didn’t take long. As long as the other gangs cooperate we won’t make any moves either.”

“Sounds like a fair deal to me,” Sage replied. They left with an understanding nod. She turned to Mason, still sitting at the bar. “Well?”

“Pack won’t make any moves either, boss.” He took another drink, then stood. “But I’d watch out for the Disciples if I was you. Nisha might be a bitch but she ain’t dumb.”

“No argument there. The best thing about Nisha is she’s very transparent about how much she hates you. Which means planning for that inevitable betrayal is pretty simple,” Sage said casually, rolling her shoulders. Gage and Mason chuckled at the accuracy of her assessment.

“I should leave before they think we’re conspiring against them,” Mason took the whiskey bottle with him and headed for the elevator. “We’ll back you up, boss. Commonwealth won’t know what hit ‘em.”

She summoned a smile and nodded at him as he left. If she was lucky this would be the last time she had to speak to any of them. She looked to Gage, who again had that strange look on his face. He faltered back to reality when he realized she was looking at him. He busied himself by pouring a drink.

“I think that went pretty well,” Sage said. It was best not to mention his feelings were showing again. Maybe they should both just ignore it. Hope it just goes away.

“It sure coulda gone worse,” He continued to avoid facing her. “Still surprises me how much power you command when you put your mind to it.”

Sage huffed out a laugh.

“Thanks for that vote of confidence,” She turned away from him before he could sass her more. “I’m gonna finish getting my travel gear together and get some rest. I’m leaving in the morning.”

“I really can’t convince you not to do this?” He set his glass down with a clunk. They’d been debating this since the day before. Neither wanted to budge.

“After that whole show? Don’t you think it would make me look even weaker if I didn’t go through with it?”

“It ain’t just that, it’s going out there on your own.” He tried to keep his voice stern. “It ain’t wise to travel alone.”

If Sage hadn’t been in his near-constant company for more than a month she might not have noticed the slight waver; a crack in his facade. There was something burning in his voice. It was trying to be anger but it didn’t quite make it. Her instinct to help had only caused her trouble lately. She drew a breath and kept pretending to be the Overboss.

She faced him with her arms crossed, eyebrows knit in annoyance.

“I need you here to keep this shitshow running smoothly. We’ve been over this.”

“It don’t have to be me, you could take whoever you want-” he argued. Sage cut off his feeble plea.

“That would blow my cover.” She changed her stance, planting herself like a tree. Unmoving and powerful. “I’m gonna head out there, on my own, and do what I need to. You know what I’m capable of.”

The air was still for a moment. Gage stared at her, stone faced. Sage didn’t flinch. He looked away and picked his drink up off the counter, finally giving in. Sage turned towards the door. She had work to do.

“It’s not like the Commonwealth is any more dangerous than a city full of raiders who may or may not want to kill me, a building full of gatorclaws, and a highly irradiated playground for ferals,” she said from over her shoulder, walking towards their storage. “Worry about yourself. Nisha hates you as much as she hates me.”

“Yeah, well, at least I can watch your back in this goddamn place,” he muttered under his breath.

 

* * *

 

 

Sage woke before dawn. Her pack was ready: stims and radaway, food for the road, plenty of bullets for her favorite gun. The armor she’d been wearing when first arriving in Nuka World had been buried deep in some supply closet. She patched it up as best as she could manage without Gage getting on her about wasting time. Now she needed it to avoid looking like a raider when she got home. She’d hate to go through all the trouble of surviving Nuka World only to get shot by some scared wastelander.

She checked her pip-boy again. Once she’d gotten herself established she’d learned the back way into the station. She’d hoped to use it as an escape route, or at least help help any other wastelanders that got conned into making the trip. Neither quite worked in her favor. Now, at last, she’d be able to make the journey home.

The Fizztop was mostly quiet. The noises of violent revelry never really stopped. Shouts and gunshots echoed in the distance. It was a more calm at this hour than throughout the day, which was a small blessing. Sage would take what she could get. She creeped through her ramshackle apartment. Getting out of here without talking to anyone would be a great start to her day.

Sage’s hand was on the doorknob to the lobby when there was tell-tale coughing from the living area.

“What’re you sneakin’ around for, boss?” Gage said groggily from the couch he was laid out on.

“I’m not sneaking.”

“You’re kinda sneaking.”

She really didn’t need this right now. She sighed; she could at least be _half_ -honest with him.

“I was just trying to be quiet because I didn’t know where you were sleeping and I didn’t want to wake you up. You knew I was planning on leaving early,” She turned to him, a hand still on the doorknob. “I just wanted to avoid another _debate_.”

He stretched as she spoke, grunting as his back popped unnervingly.

“No more arguments from me, boss. You’re stubborn when you wanna be. Ain’t no use fightin’ you something you’ve set your mind to. I’d have better luck one on one with a Deathclaw.” He looked at her for a moment, bathed in the dim light from their lanterns. He glanced away and rubbed the back of his neck. “I meant what I said before, about trusting you. Didn’t mean to make it seem like I don’t. Just gotta learn to stop jumpin’ at shadows, I guess.”

Sage had lied to herself. It wasn’t just another argument she was trying to avoid. It was this. Porter Gage being _vulnerable._ It was like he was handing her the knife she was going to use to stab him in the back. It reminded her of the inevitable and how broken a man he’d be once it was all over.

Her fist tightened around the strap of her pack as she struggled for words.

“Well, I-” she started. The words fell flat before she even said them.

What was she trying to say, anyway? She couldn’t tell him the whole truth. She couldn’t invite him to join her. Everything he’d worked for was here. She was about to do everything in her power to stop him. His entire life was built about being a raider, what hope could she have to change that?

And that was it. He had been a raider for, what, twenty years? This was the life he’d built for himself. She could only imagine what kind of atrocities he’d committed. Maybe he was marginally more civilized than a lot of raiders but he still made his living off the misery of the average wastelander. It hurt more than she expected to remind herself of that fact. That Porter Gage didn’t deserve her sympathy.

She cleared her throat.

“I appreciate that. I’m glad you finally understand,” she said. It sounded cold, almost alien coming out of her. She re-adjusted her straps and opened the door an inch. “I’ll be back in a couple weeks. Don’t burn the place down while I’m gone.”

Gage didn’t like the sudden distance in her voice. It was detached. Maybe he’d imagined it; he had just said he needed to be less paranoid.

“You got it, boss,” he said with a forced smile. “Don’t get killed out there. I’d hate to have to go through the trouble of finding another Overboss.”

Sage didn’t say goodbye. She just nodded and headed out the door, leaving Gage alone with his thoughts.  

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry it took me three months to update. I hit, like, the worst writers block and a buncha life stuff happened. I'm gonna try my damnedest to have this story done by the end of summer but we'll see. There's probably two more chapters after this. Thank you for reading!!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are ramping up. Nick and the crew have been hard at work preparing for war. Everyone is itching to get moving but these things take time- more time that Hancock is willing to give. 
> 
> Back in Nuka World, Gage gets some strange news. He doesn't want to be paranoid anymore, especially about Sage, but he can't help but wonder.

“We really oughta do more recon on this place before we go marching out there,” Nick said to no one in particular.

“We ain’t got the time, Nicky,” Hancock answered.  He sat close to the table, hunched forward on his left arm. His other hand lazily held a cigarette that was burning down all too quickly.

“Or the resources,” Preston said. He stood with his arms crossed, brow furrowed in thought. “I’m amazed so many showed up to help but it’s put some real strain on Sanctuary.”

“I could just leave, like, right now and get in pretending to be a raider.” Deacon was sitting backwards on a chair, away from the main group. “Sergeant Pepper drew up a pretty handy-dandy map. Pretty sure I can get in without getting shot.”

“Seems like overkill to me,” Hancock said as he ashed his cigarette. “Pepper’s already told us everything she knows. We just gotta agree on a plan.”  
“More information couldn’t hurt,” Preston said. He leaned over the makeshift war table to scan over the map, hands flat on the table. “But I just don’t know if it’s worth the risk to wait much longer.”

Nick hummed noncommittally in response.

None of them were completely wrong. It had been three weeks since Nick and his gang of misfits had shown up on Preston’s doorstep. It didn’t take long to give him a rundown of the situation. It took even less time to decide what to do about it. Unfortunately it turned out gathering the forces to make an honest-to-god attack on a place like Nuka World was a lengthy process.

They pulled on all the strings they knew. Preston had gotten to work spreading word to the settlements and coordinating efforts with the radio back at the Castle. Turned out Nuka World was already on his list of concerns. Once word got out that General Sage Fairfield was trapped there the people were pretty damn willing to help. Nick could see the pride on the man’s face as people began to call in that they were on their way and started building up around Sanctuary. Nick knew just how far the Minutemen had once fallen. He couldn’t imagine how Preston felt watching them reach even greater heights.

Nick’s contribution seemed much less impressive by comparison. The Railroad may have been the ones to save the Commonwealth by they weren’t an army. Desdemona had been reluctant to promise any help at all. Nick had barely held his temper as the woman hemmed and hawed about resources. The Railroad would’ve lost everything if not for Sage, and Desdemona couldn’t be bothered to help? It was lucky Deacon showed up in time to argue on Sage’s behalf. Nick couldn’t be sure what Deacon had on their great leader but it seemed to make it difficult for Dez to say no to him.

Later on Deacon assured Nick it wasn’t that Dez didn’t care. She just spends too much time looking at the big picture. Why pull out all stops for a single agent?

“I’m about ready to head in myself if we don’t come up with something soon,” Hancock said as he took another drag.

“Keep your shirt on. This’ll be a catastrophe if we don’t do it right,” Nick replied as he looked over the table. Early-afternoon sunlight filtered through the blinds and layed stripes down on their best-laid plans.

The two of them had been having this back and forth for about two weeks. Nick could appreciate his impatience; he was getting pretty antsy, himself. It wasn’t as if the group of them hadn’t been hard at work the last few weeks. It just wasn’t the job they wanted to be doing. Nick was starting to worry about the young ghoul, though. Well, young compared to him. Hancock could be stubborn to the point of being hardheaded. He was liable to do something foolish if they didn’t figure this out soon.  

“According to what we know there’s only two ways in-” Nick continued.

“-And I don’t know about you guys, but both ways look like crazy deathtraps to me,” Deacon cut in. “I’m not sure why you went through the trouble to recruit the Railroad if you aren’t  gonna let us do what we do best.”

“Then what do you want to do?” Hancock asked sharply. His cigarette burned an angry red as he pulled on it.

“I want to put on my best raider costume and do some sneaky shit but apparently getting more information so we can all _not die_ immediately is too much trouble.” He let his sarcasm hang in the air for a beat. “So I guess we could, I don’t know, start sniping at the main gate and try to draw them out.”

“Fellas, please. Pepper mentioned a junkyard outside the park,” Preston said as cleared some stray papers from the map. He tapped his finger a scribble west of the park's main entrance. “If she's right, the most we'll have to worry about there is some old robots. We can mobilize and set up camp there. Get this army we’ve cobbled together out of Sanctuary.”

Nick nodded.

“From there we can send some people in to do recon and start on mounting the offensive.

“Only if we manage to get in without settin’ off the alarm. Fastest way there is that damn train station and I’m sure they’ll notice the extra traffic.” Hancock responded. “All this extra shit just gives everything more chances to go wrong.”

“Pretty sure Pepper mentioned a back door.” Deacon said. “Plus it’s not gonna hurt you at all if I go in with a couple others and scope the place out. We’ll take the fast way, sneak outta the station, and gather some intel while you guys lead the army in the long way. Meet you at the junkyard once we’re done.”

Hancock glowered. It wasn’t a terrible plan but he wasn’t a man especially known for his patience. The long way was at least a three day walk, two if they really pushed it. His fears had not died down over the last three weeks. They’d gone nuclear, if anything. It was only Nick that had kept him from marching off on his own. The old synth was probably right that him going it alone would end in disaster but if he couldn’t save the best thing that ever happened to him it would be an end he deserved.

“Don’t even think about it.” Nick said, staring hard at Hancock. Sometimes the ghoul had a good poker face. Now wasn’t one of those times. “We’ve been over this.”

“Don’t start.” Hancock growled. He avoided Nick’s gaze, instead studying the map.

“No, I want to hear you say it. What exactly do you think you’d accomplish, going off on your own?” Nick hadn’t raised his voice but there was a paternal anger his words; part worry and part frustration. “You’re not a one-man army. You’re not a knight in shining armor-”

“What I’d _accomplish_ is getting off my ass and doing something! I’ll be the first to admit you gotta have a plan for this kinda thing but this is ridiculous!” Hancock barked. He sat up straight and ground his cigarette out into a dirty ashtray. “I could’ve been looking for her-”

“With all due respect, you’re being a selfish son of a bitch.” Preston interjected, said with all the calm of the eye of a storm. The words cut both Nick and Hancock short. Gaining the ill temper of a man like Preston Garvey was a feat unto itself. “This isn’t just about you. Don’t you think we’d all like to be out there already?”

“There is a _literal army_ outside that kind of proves you aren’t the only one who cares about Sage,” Deacon said with uncharacteristic seriousness.

“We all want to save her.” Preston looked Hancock in the eye, steadfast. “But if we don’t do this right-”

“The problem is we ain’t done anything,” he rasped, “and at this rate- at this rate we might’ve already lost her.”

It was a truth that hung heavily in the air. They hadn’t talked about it. Even thinking about it felt like tempting fate. It caught Nick by surprise that Hancock had been the one to point out the elephant in the room.

“You think we don’t know that?” Nick said.

“That’s been a possibility the whole time,” Preston said. “And if, god forbid, worst comes to worst we owe it to her to do this right. We’ll be no help to anyone dead.”

A miserable silence followed. There was the sound of people bustling out in the street, some brahmin off the distance. Hancock’s face had fallen to something deadly serious.

“Do whatever you want,” Hancock said, defeated. His chair scraped bitterly against the floor as he stood. “I’m goin’ for a walk.”

Nick took a step towards him as he headed toward the door.

“John-” he started.

“Don’t you _John_ me!” Hancock turned on a dime. “You’re right, ok? Is that what you want to hear? All of you are right!”

Hancock looked between the other three men. They stared him down. He didn’t budge.

“But I can’t just sit here.” Hancock locked eyes with Nick. The old synth’s eyes were sad and full of an understanding Hancock didn’t expect to find.

Nick just nodded. Hancock turned towards the door without another word. With his hand on the knob he hesitated for just a moment. But no, it was too late for that. He opened the door to Sanctuary, ready to face whatever the future might bring.

There was a woman at the door. Freckles were splattered across her pale skin and over her sharp nose. Under her combat armor she wore a dirty green flannel shirt, and on her head was the same kind of stupid hat Valentine always had on. She made this one look good, though. His eyes were drawn to her lips-  just barely parted in surprise- and found an old scar going across them to the right. Then up to her eyes- her beautiful green eyes.

“Sunshine?” Hancock breathed.

“John?” Sage answered. “What are you-”

Sage staggered backward as Hancock threw himself onto her. She was wrapped up tight in his arms, almost painfully clutched to him. She was held in such a strong embrace she almost couldn’t hug him back. After a moment of struggle she got her arms around him. She breathed in the scent of his coat, quietly reveling in the closeness of him as her surprise wore off.

Everything hit her like a ton of bricks. A thousand questions roiled in her chest. They traffic-jammed in her throat and threatened to overflow her eyes with tears. It had been so long since she’d been allowed _vulnerability_.

She fought back the wave of emotion. Clearly there was work to be done. She could be soft later. She swallowed her feelings, drew a shaky breath, and shored herself up.

“Hancock, what is going on?” Sage asked with her face still buried in his coat.

“As if you got no idea,” he said with a trembling chuckle. He finally gave her some breathing room, using his sleeve to wipe his eyes and holding one of her shoulders. He leaned in to kiss her forehead and then continued planting them around her face, using them punctuate every other word. “I thought- I told you- to stop- scaring me like this!”

“This has got to be a joke.” The two of them heard Deacon say.

Hancock stepped aside, allowing Sage a full view into the room. Preston, Nick, and Deacon stared at her, slack-jawed and eyes wide.

“Well, I’ll be damned.” Nick mumbled in awe.

Sage stepped inside the house, feeling deeply awkward. This whole shebang- the four of them gathered like this, the veritable shantytown around the Red Rocket, all these people bustling through Sanctuary- couldn’t possibly all be for her. Something must be going horribly wrong somewhere. She moved towards the middle of the room with her friends eyes still silently weighing on her. She looked down at the table and felt like her heart was going to stop.

 _Oh my god. It’s Nuka World_ , she thought. Her eyes rolled over the maps and notes scattered about the table. _This is all because of me._

She covered her mouth with one hand and felt Hancock take her other. Another wave of emotion threatened to drown her. She squeezed her eyes shut and she struggled to stay afloat.

“General, what in Sam Hill is going on?” Preston said quietly, like he was speaking to a ghost.

“Yeah, boss,” Deacon followed. “What the _actual fuck_?”

Thank goodness for Deacon. She could always count on him for a laugh. A surprised, tired giggle burst from her mouth. It was just a few seconds of confused amusement but it shook her loose from the weight of her responsibilities, for just a moment, and gave her some grounding.

“I- I’m so sorry,” she said finally.

“Sage.” She turned to find Nick’s hand on her shoulder. His golden eyes felt like they were boring into her soul. “Just take a seat and tell us what happened. Alright?”

“Yeah, Nick. Sure,” she said haltingly. She found herself pulled into another hug, thankfully more gently this time.

“I’m glad you’re safe, doll,” he said softly. He pulled away after a moment and held her by the shoulders. “Be more careful in the future, will ya? I’m an old man. Can’t take much more of this.”

Sage half-smiled as she wiped her eyes again.

“Yeah, of course. I’m sorry you-” she started.

“Hey, no more sorries,” Hancock said as he pulled up a chair for Sage. He took her face in his hands to kiss her forehead again, then brushed his thumb across her cheek to wipe away another stray tear.

“Just get comfortable and spin us a tale to make sense of his whole mess.” Nick said, gesturing at the chair.

Sage set her rifle on the table and tossed her travel bag against the wall. She took a seat. For a moment she was silent; where to even begin?

“This whole thing started because I’m an idiot.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Hancock awoke sometime in the small hours of the morning. He’d fallen asleep tangled together with Sage but now found her curled in on herself, facing away from him. She was still sleeping soundly. He thought her snoring was adorable. Usually it was pretty light but he figured this must be the best sleep she’d gotten in months. She sounded like a congested Deathclaw and that was something he would take to his grave.

He rolled onto his back and resisted the urge to wrap himself around her. He wanted nothing more than to feel her presence and hold her close before whatever happened next. There was still an awful lot of work to be done. She needed this sleep. She deserved the all the rest she could get and a whole lot more.

She wanted to go back to Nuka World. Not immediately. Sooner than Hancock would like. Of course, he’d prefer she never go out there ever again, especially after she told them about the place. Everything she’d just barely managed to survive. Thinking about how much danger she’d been in made his chest hurt.

Hancock slipped out of bed and tugged his boots on. His signature red coat was laying across the dilapidated couch he’d tossed it on. It was a comforting weight on his shoulders and the cigarettes in his pocket were more comforting still. Hopefully a walk and a smoke would calm his nerves enough to get back to sleep.

Hancock lit a cigarette as he stood on the doorstep of Sage’s old home. He marveled at how peaceful it was. It didn’t matter what time of day it was in Goodneighbor, there was always some ruckus going on. He liked it that way. It was easier to lose himself in the noise.

As he headed down the road toward the ramshackle front-gate he wondered if that was why Sage liked being in Goodneighbor too. He thought about what waited up the hill just north of the settlement and what was buried under their feet. Hancock knew better than most the futile struggle of trying to outrun the past. He could understand wanting to put as much physical space as possible between herself and that god damn Vault.

It was hard to get used to how quiet Sanctuary was. Even now that dozens of people were squatting around town it was still a pretty serene place. There were enough two-hundred year old houses left standing that the people could pack in and be safe, if not comfortable. Those that didn’t fit in Sanctuary had set up camp around the Red Rocket, just on the other side of the old bridge.

 

Someone was standing up on the guard post, as per usual. It overlooked the Sanctuary Bridge and gave a good view of the road from the Red Rocket. Hancock couldn’t see who it was until it was too late. They turned to the sound of footsteps coming behind them and their glowing yellow eyes gave them away.

 _Aw hell,_ Hancock thought.

It wasn’t that he didn’t like Nick. Hancock just didn’t understand him. First he was hiding information from him and calling him childish, then not three hours later the old synth took a bullet for him. Hancock hated not knowing where he stood with someone. They’d both been too busy and too on edge for any kind of communication on the subject.

“What’re you doin’ up this late?” Nick asked. He lit a cigarette, the small flame illuminating his face for just a moment. “Shouldn’t you be in bed with your sweetheart?”

“Couldn’t sleep. Figured I’d go for a walk.” Hancock replied. He joined Nick on the platform overlooking the river. They probably wouldn’t have another chance to talk like this in a long while.

“How’s Sage doin?” Nick asked he took a drag.

“She was passed out cold when I woke up.” Hancock replied. “We had a good talk. She had a good cry too, but I’m sure she’d clock me one for saying so.”

“Well, I know how to keep a secret,” Nick chuckled. “I’ll be sure not to tell anyone the mighty General Fairfield has feelings.”

A cool silence held over them for a moment. They were caught by a cold breeze that made Hancock pull his coat more snuggly around him. Spring was just around the corner but winter was still baring its teeth.

“How’re you holding up?” Nick wasn’t looking at Hancock as he asked. He was peering off into the darkness, leaning his elbows against the railing.

Hancock didn’t answer. He just stared at Nick for a moment. Whether or not either of them were ready, it was time to talk.

“I don’t get you, Valentine.” Hancock said as he shook his head. Nick looked back at him quizzically. “Sometimes it seems like you can’t stand me. Other times you go and say shit like that- or take a goddamn bullet for me. Just give it to me straight, alright?”

Hancock looked expectantly at Nick. It took him some time to respond. He needed to roll Hancock’s words around his head a bit. He was right; Nick hadn’t been very consistently with him. Clouds drifted by above them while they both got lost in their heads.

“I got hired for a case years and years ago,” Nick started, “by some doctor. This was well before Doctor Sun and Doc Crocker set up shop in town. Anyhow, it seemed that someone had been breaking into their little clinic and swiping chems. They weren’t taking any caps and it wasn’t the usual chems, but it was happening on the regular. Doc kept getting better locks and the perp just kept picking them.”

Nick held the same position as he spoke, staring out into the night and smoking. Hancock stood with one arm across his chest and other hold his cigarette. He studied the ground. This story felt familiar in a way he couldn’t put his finger it. He didn’t like it.

“Doc let me stake out inside the office one night, to catch the guy in the act. Sometime past midnight some scrappy little teenager picked the lock and slithered inside. He was all dirty, blond hair and cracked nails. You might’ve recognized him.” Nick glanced back at Hancock with a smirk, then back out into the night. “I certainly did. Seen him around town for years. He wasn’t a bad kid by any means, just, ah, rambunctious. I was more than a little disappointed to see him stooping to stealing drugs before he was even twenty.”

Nick paused to take a drag. A cold wind whisked away the smoke as he blew it out and stole Hancock’s breath.

“I watched him rifle through the cabinets, looking for goodness-knew-what, when suddenly his face lit up like a kid on Christmas. I craned my neck to see what he’d found, figuring it would be a lifetime supply of jet or some nonsense, but to my surprise he was holding a rare bottle of antibiotics. He stuffed it in his pocket, along with a few doses of med-x, and scampered on his way.”

“Now, no one steals medicine unless they need it. This kid looked pretty healthy, if a tad on the skinny side, so I tailed him. Followed him through town and eventually he ended up at a tiny shack near the edge of the city farm. He pulled out a key and was inside for near an hour. Once he left I picked the lock and went in myself. You know what I found?”

Hancock knew. His mouth was so dry he couldn’t answer. He felt like he had swallowed his cigarette.

“I found an old woman, asleep in an armchair. The stolen chems were on a small table next to her and it seems likely the hour this kid had spent in there was tidying the place up. I left the place the way I found it and came back the next morning to have a chat with this old woman. I don’t recall her name-”

“Marie. Miss Marie Rudolf,” Hancock said in a daze. He rubbed the back of his neck as he looked up to the sky. He’d almost forgotten this. “She helped take care of us when we were kids. By that time our parents were already out of the picture and my brother was well on his way to being a full-blown asshole.”

“And you were just doing the only thing you knew to help a sick old woman.” Nick followed. “I didn’t tell her you were stealing it. But I did tell her she wouldn’t have to worry about where her medicine was coming from from there on out.”

“You’re the one that started paying for it?” Hancock gaped.

“I save a lotta caps not needing to eat.” Nick shrugged a shoulder. “Being a synth’s got a few benefits.”

Hancock took drag. This felt like more even footing. It still wasn’t a real answer, though. Nick liked to talk himself around a problem without dealing with it directly. His taste for flowery language could be fun to listen to but not when he needed answers.

“So what’s the morsel of wisdom tucked away in this story, Nicky? What moral are you tryin’ to tell me?” Hancock said.

“For Pete’s sake.” Nick grumbled. He turned his head toward Hancock. “I’m trying to say that I’ve known the kind of man you are for a long time. You and I just have different ways of doing things.”

“And what about my relationship with Sage? You acting like a protective father all the damn time. How does that figure in?” Hancock asked defensively.

There was another quiet moment while Nick pulled on his cigarette. He figured he deserved this interrogation.

“Sage was in a bad place after the Institute got dealt with. First she opted to stay in Sanctuary but being here was tough on her. I didn’t hear til well after the fact that she’d wound up in Goodneighbor. Of course you know the reputation Goodneighbor has and, well.” He paused, taking a final drag off his cigarette and flicking the butt into the dark. “In that state of mind it’s all too easy to give into certain vices. The urge to lose yourself in the bottle or a drug-induced haze. You’re all adults and I mean no disrespect but to be honest, I worry. For the both of you.”

Hancock shifted uncomfortably. This conversation had gone all kinds of places he didn’t expect.

“Now it’s pretty darn clear that my worry has been misplaced. You’re doing better than I’ve seen in a long while. Sage especially is happier with you than I saw her in all our months traveling the Commonwealth. I thought my actions were read as _tough love_ but I guess I was just being a grade-A schmuck. I hope you can forgive an old detective for worrying.”

“Ya know, I half expected you to say you were in love with her too,” Hancock said.

“Goodness, no.” Nick chuckled. “What you said about acting like a protective father wasn’t too far off. Sage is a dear but I’m not exactly built for romance.”

“That’s a little more than I ever wanted to know about you.” Hancock laughed.

Nick snorted in faux-offense.

“That ain’t what I meant, you deviant.”

Hancock couldn’t help but laugh. Nick dipped his head forward, shaking it slowly while a begrudging smile appeared on his face. He stood up straight and stretched as they lapsed into another silence. It was almost comfortable, unlike how strained things had been lately. For weeks Hancock felt like he was walking on eggshells. He still wasn’t sure if Nick had even noticed. It had been so hard to see past their own anxieties. Now that Sage was back, solidly alive and safe, the blinds were falling away.

“It’s good to know you don’t actually hate me. I’m not sure what Sage’d do if she ever had to choose between the two of us,” Hancock said as he tossed his long-dead cigarette butt to the ground. “She’s the best thing that ever happened to me and that ain’t something I want to jeopardize. Frankly, I worry about how this is gonna turn out in the long term, me being _this_ and her being fully human. No turning back now, though.”

“I’d be lying if I said the same thing hadn’t crossed my mind,” Nick said soberly. “No matter what happened between us before, I think you and I are permanently bound by this. Us alleged immortals and this very amazing, very human woman.”

“Just do me one favor, Nick,” Hancock said. Nick looked over at his serious tone and met his eyes. “No more secrets. If something’s going on and you know something, even just hunch, just fucking tell me. I ain’t got the patience for guessing games.”

“If you promise me the same thing I’ll call it a deal,” Nick said, offering up his good hand.

“Sounds fair to me.” Hancock clasped his hand and gave it a firm shake.

“Sun’s gonna be up in a few hours. You oughta head back to bed,” Nick said.

“Yeah. You got anyone taking over for you?” Hancock replied.

“Nah. I don’t need sleep the same as you flesh-and-blood types. As long as I don’t pull all-nighters too often I’m alright.” He waved a hand at Hancock’s skeptical look. “Don’t worry yourself. Head on back to Sage. I’m fine.”

“If you say so. You can’t say I didn’t offer, though.” He gave Nick a pat on the back before turning to head out. “You’re a good friend, Valentine. Thanks for having my back. Now if only we could get you loosen up a little.”

“If I loosen up any more I’ll start losing limbs. Gotta keep those joint actuators tight,”  Nick said with his typical deadpan snark. Nick lit up another cigarette and looked to the road. “Get some rest. We’ve still got a lot of work ahead of us.”

“Ain’t that the truth,” Hancock said on his way down the stairs.

He trudged back up the hill to the old house. He wasn’t sure he’d get much more sleep. Talking with Nick put a lot of his concerns to rest and took some real weight off his shoulders but Nick was right; there was still a lot of work to do. Sage wanted to throw herself back into danger. Their little army here in Sanctuary was getting antsy. Whatever was waiting for them in Nuka World sure wasn’t gonna be a walk in the park.

He shrugged his coat back onto the couch where he’d found it. He kicked his boots off while thoughts tumbled over each other. They didn’t stop until he creeped back into the bedroom and found Sage stretched out over his side of the bed, her brown hair cascading perfectly over her face.

“Move over a bit, love,” he said in a low voice. Sage scooted over, making a reluctant little whine that made Hancock feel like his heart was going to burst.

“Where’d you go?” Sage murmured as Hancock slid into bed.

“Just out for a walk. C’mere.” He pulled Sage into his arms so they were face to face. He ran his fingers through her hair and kissed her forehead. The tired smile that spread across her face put stars in his eyes and his heart in his throat.

He fell asleep curled together with her, feeling as though he had all the world right there.

 

* * *

 

 

Cappy’s Cafe already had too many people in it. It wasn’t full and bustling, but the handful of raiders already drinking, drunk, or high was more than Gage wanted to deal with. He could have stayed back at the Fizztop and drank away some of the stash but he never did like the feeling of drinking alone. Here he could at least pretend he was being sociable. That, and the food Lauren Plummer could whip up was miles better than anything he could do.

Sage- the Overboss, that is- had been gone about a week. It wasn’t that he missed her. He’d just gotten used to her buzzing around; inventorying her truly impressive collection of weapons and armor, modding the pieces she liked best, trying to put out the fires Colter let go on way too long. It just felt kind of weird being alone in the Fizztop.

There hadn’t been much to do this week and he’d spent too much lounging around. The gangs were keeping their word. No one had made any moves. Everyone was acting real polite. At least as polite as raiders get.

Gage was kind of surprised, maybe even a little disappointed. If the Disciples stirred up trouble he knew he could count on the Pack to help deal with it and it would be nice to get that inevitable double-crossing out of the way. One less thing Sa- The Overboss would have to deal with.

The door opened and shut, letting in a blast of air and extra voices. Gage thought idly about finding something to do elsewhere with fewer people.

“Porter Gage!” Gage grimaced as a hand slapped his shoulder. “Just the man I wanted to see.”

Gage turned in his seat to see just who the hell thought they could act so friendly with him and found Shank sliding onto an empty barseat. He laid his hat on the counter and waved over Lauren, ordering a drink and some noodles. Gage gathered is thoughts while Shank made smalltalk with the barkeep for a moment. He wasn’t paying attention what they were saying, just wondering why Shank would want to find him. It wasn’t often he had information so important he needed to track Gage down.

“So, how’re things going?” Shank asked as Lauren left with his order.

“Going good. Once the Overboss gets back we’ll start hitting the Commonwealth and it’s all up from there. We’re right where we need to be,” Gage said as he took a swig of beer.

“Right, right. About that.” Shank swallowed and pulled at his collar. “Listen, Gage, I mean this with all due respect, but you royally fucked up.”

Gage put his beer down with a thud and turned on his seat. Gage wasn’t a large man- he was more lean and scrappy than anything- but he had a force of personality that made most men shrink away. He glared with his one good eye and while Shank didn’t do exactly what he wanted- which was fucking leave- he had the decency to nervously eye the door.

“Alright, I shoulda started that better. But listen,” Shank leaned in, lowering his voice, “do you have any idea who your _new Overboss_ even is?”

“Shank, you’ve always had a good eye for business and you’ve been damn near instrumental in keeping the market running, but if you don’t start explaining yourself I’m gonna toss you on your ass.” Gage was usually pretty patient, at least compared to most other raiders. Shank being so cagey was pissing him off. If he had something to say he needed to spit it out.

“Remember all that shit I told you was going down in the Commonwealth? That crazy airship that showed up? It got blown outta the sky like four months later, just a big fiery heap in the old airport. There’s a goddamn crater in the middle of Boston where CIT used to be, which was apparently the Institutes HQ. It _used_ to be their HQ. They got blown to hell, too. The Institute’s fucking _gone_.” Gage raised his eyebrows at that. “And, get this, the Minutemen are making a comeback. Lotta settlements are signing up with them again. They even got the Castle back from the mirelurks. Heard they had to take out a queen to do it.”

“Sounds like life in the Commonwealth’s been pretty eventful,” Gage said. He took another drink of his beer before continuing. “So what’s that got to do with the Overboss?”

“She had a personal hand in all of that shit.” Shank was sitting on the edge of his seat. “Or at least it’s rumored she did. I got it on good authority she worked very closely with the Minutemen. The Railroad, too.”

“Bullshit,” Gage hissed.

“When have I lied to you? Why would I lie about something like this?” Shank was practically in Gage’s face. The clunk of his bowl setting on the counter brought him down a notch. He slid back and picked at his noodles with a fork. “Mark my words, Gage. She’s only been here to gather intel on this shitty raider city. Now that she left? She’s gonna come back with an army of her own.”

Gage was stone-faced. He didn’t answer Shank. He didn’t even look at him. He let his informant eat while he thought. Sage never talked about much about what she did before finding her way to Nuka World. When she did it sounded like she was just a mercenary- albeit a very successful one. Shank must’ve gotten his wires crossed.

“That don’t make any sense,” Gage said after a few minutes. “Why would she go through all the trouble of clearing out the parks and getting them set up for the gangs if she was just gonna wreck the place?”

“Who’s to fucking say,” Shank answered. He finished off his noodles and drank down a warm Cherry Nuka Cola.

Gage turned to Shank as he emptied his soda bottle.

“I want to make one thing clear about this-” He leaned forward and grabbed Shank’s shoulder. “-and that’s that I think you’re full of shit. But I don’t want you to breathe a word of this to anyone else. You understand me?”

His grip on the informant’s shoulder was painfully tight. Shank, to his credit, didn’t wince. He didn’t even fight it.

“I got it. Not a word,” he said with a nod. Gage let go and turned back towards the bar. Shank rolled and stretched his now aching shoulder. “As soon as I’m done here I’m gonna get on the road anyway. Don’t want to be here when the shit hits the fan.”

Gage shook his head as he drank down the rest of his beer. That seemed a bit dramatic. He wasn’t going to argue if it would have Shank out of the way, though. He watched Shank pay his tab, get up, and dust himself off.

“See you in a month. Good luck out there,” Gage said cooly.

“Yeah,” Shank said as he placed his worn hat back on his head. He offered Gage his hand to shake. Gage clasped him at the wrist for just a moment. “Good luck.”

Gage sat the bar for a few minutes after Shank left. More people started piling in the cafe. The raucous voices and jostling bodies were more than he felt like dealing with. He left after paying his tab and made his way back to the Fizztop. The sun was low in the sky, soon to be setting. He wondered if there were any ferals left to shoot in Kiddie Kingdom or Bloodworms to deal with Dry Rock Gulch. This tension needed to get worked out somehow.

Shank couldn’t possibly be right. Maybe Sage had a role in all that crazy stuff, but who can say? He’d like to think he knew the woman pretty damn well. That tends to happen when you face mortal danger with the same person every day.

Even if she was a part of it, that didn’t mean she was going to come back and destroy all their hard work. Maybe she got tired of being the good guy. It must be a pretty thankless job. Doing rotten work for people who can barely pay you? Sage was above that kinda shit. She was someone who was meant to be in charge. Demanded respect. Wastelanders only respected fear.

He rode the elevator up to the Fizztop. He looked over Nuka World in silence, taking in the surprisingly beautiful view of the sunset.

No, Shank had to be wrong. She’d never betray them. She had too much of a good thing going here.

 _Not after everything we’ve been through_ , he let himself think. _She wouldn’t do that to me._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you don't feel too cheated that Sage showed up again without them having to fight for her? I mean, I guess that's the Plot Twist. Part of it, anyway. At least Nick and Hancock finally got some resolution. Anyway to make up for the last two chapters being, like, entirely dialogue I promise Chapter 5 will be action packed. Also, dangarang, Chapter 5 is probably going to be the last one!! I'm in the home stretch now, I hope you guys have enjoyed the ride.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's all built up to this. The web Sage has done her best to spin is close to unraveling. The army her friends put together is ready to fall to task. The raiders are more than ready to start taking the Commonwealth. Porter Gage weighs heavier on her mind than she wants; She's got one chance at this and she can't let it go over some raider. 
> 
> All her people know the plan. Sage knows what she has to do. She can only hope her luck holds out for a few more days.

“You sure about this?”

Hancock and Sage were laying in bed. The sun had set and the room was illuminated by two lanterns, casting a soft glow on them. Sage’s pack leaned against the wall, ready for what the morning would bring. Hancock’s supplies were ready to go as well- though he wouldn’t be leaving for a few hours after her. Unless she changed her mind.

Sage rolled away from his embrace. On her back she stared at the ruined ceiling, watching patches of the night sky float by, and held her interlaced fingers flat against her diaphragm. She thought about his question.

“Not really,” she said after a moment. “You know what’s funny, though? That was one the last things Gage asked me before I left.”

“Listen Sunshine, if you-”

“-Please, John.” Sage pressed the palms of hands against her eyes. “I don’t want to argue about this.”

It broke his heart how tired she sounded. He did his best to keep his own fear out of his voice.

“But if you ain’t sure, then why?”

A smile found a place under the hands that covered her face.

“As the man I love likes to say, _if someone needs help, we help them. If someone needs hurting, we hurt them._ ” She slid her hands off her face and ran them through her hair. “Just because we’re nervous nellies about it doesn’t mean we’re off the hook. We can’t just leave those people out there and we’ll never be in a better position to do something about it than we are right now.”

“Hey now, you can’t go using my words against me. That ain’t fair.” He said as he sat up and placed a kiss on her forehead. Sage cackled.

“I was a _lawyer_ , John. That’s what I do best.”

“Alright, fine.” Hancock kissed her again. He wasn’t sure what a lawyer was but he knew kisses were a good response to most anything. “You’re right, they need our help. But why can’t I come with you?”

“Because you’re distracting, you’ll _be_ distracted, and I don’t need another thing for Gage to be suspicious about.” She flopped her arms over her face so her eyes were covered by her forearms. “Deacon will come with me because he’s a professional liar. He’ll meet you guys at the junkyard when you get there a few days later. That’ll give me time to get everything else set up.”

He wanted so badly to argue. What could he say that she hadn’t thought of? She was right that it would be a distraction from the task at hand. It wasn’t like he wouldn’t be sidetracked worrying about her the whole time anyway. And he might not be Deacon’s biggest fan but lying was definitely the agent’s greatest skill.

Hancock sighed.

“Do me a favor and stop being right all the time.”

“I wouldn’t say I’m right _all_ the time. I mean, I did go out to Nuka World all by myself like a complete idiot.” She sat up and turned to face him, sitting awkwardly cross-legged on the bed. “I know you’re just worried about me. And I know this could go really, really badly. But I have to try. Not everyone out there deserves to die, you know? Sometimes they just need to know there’s another way.”

Hancock shook his head.

“You givin’ out second chances left, right, and center is gonna be your end someday.”

Sage didn’t have a response to that. It was like he was mourning her already. Sometimes she felt like she was mourning _herself_. She gently took him by the face and kissed him before face-planting into his shoulder. They shifted positions so she wasn’t so uncomfortably contorted. They leaned against the wall while huddled together.

It didn’t make sense to talk about the things she’d done. Not again. They’d had that conversation. There wasn’t much left to unpack. She knew what he’d say: The sacrifices she made were for the sake of the Commonwealth. The people were safer for it.

He was right, of course, but that didn’t change that she killed an awful lot of people. It would always be heavy burden.

After spending months with raiders, learning to see them as real people, she had the weight of all the Commonwealth raiders she’d dealt with on her shoulders as well. Nine times out of ten they’d attacked her first or she was defending a settlement, but they were still people. How many of them had been in a position like Porter Gage or Pepper? Having their family terrorized by raiders so long it seemed like the only viable option.

Not that any of them would’ve given her a chance to talk them down. But this time she can at least try.

“At least half of them will stand down when I make the announcement. The ones that don’t will be disorganized as ever. We’ll have the place bottlenecked and Deacon and I will have the only _real_ threat defused before we even get that far.” Sage spoke like she was listing off facts from a textbook; detached. “It’ll be dangerous but that’s no different from usual. My plan may be more complicated than just wiping the place out, but I- I can’t do that again. Not when I have the option for something else.”    

Her voice faltered, just barely, at the end of her speech. A crack in her facade that Hancock wouldn’t have picked up when they were first starting out. He held her a little tighter. She didn’t need him to tell her again that the weight of the world wasn’t on her shoulders alone.  

 

* * *

 

 

Dragging herself out of bed the next morning was a struggle. In part because she didn’t want to wake up, but mostly because Hancock didn’t want to let her out of bed.

“Babe, please,” Sage said as she playfully fought against his embrace. “Deeks is probably waiting for me-”

“He can wait just a couple minutes longer,” Hancock replied. He planted kisses on her face and reveled in her half-hearted resistance. After a moment she tried to pull away in earnest but he still wasn’t having it. He slid one of his hands up her back and into her hair, scraping his fingertips against her scalp in the way he knew made her shiver.

“We’re about to go to _war_ , love,” he said huskily. “We can take some time to ourselves. Lord knows when we’ll have another chance.”

 

Deacon didn’t say a thing about her being late. Neither did the others, thankfully.

They met at Preston’s house. Hancock followed behind Sage as they walked in, finding Nick and Preston sitting at the war table. Mugs of tea were lined on the counter- only two of them still full and only lukewarm.  

Sage sipped at the mug while they went over the plan for the thousandth time. She popped in with a detail very so often, noting a good spot for Hancock’s sniper friend or where they were likely to catch extra trouble.

There was a quiet tension to the room. A tightness that made each of them reluctant to step out the door. Early morning sun began to filter through the windows and patched walls. Sage knew, as they all did, that all this talk wasn’t going to bring them anymore chance of success. It was just wasting time.

They’d all gone into battle before. Deacon, Sage, and Nick had all been a part of the assault on the Institute. This was nothing new. Saying these kinds of goodbyes would always be hard. Hugs and handshakes went around the room, and sincere, mumbled wishes of good luck.

After a final, lingering embrace with Hancock, Sage left. She and Deacon made their way out of town, heading south on the road toward the Drumlin Diner and then west toward the transit center.

“Feels weird preparing for war again, huh?” Deacon asked, breaking their radio silence.

“Aren’t we always kind of at war?” Sage replied with a shrug. “First it was the Institute and the Brotherhood, then it was just bigots and stray coursers. Now we’re back to having a specific enemy.”

“And you’re sure these raiders will buy what you’re selling?”

Sage stopped and pinched the bridge of her nose.

“I am _so tired_ of everyone asking me if I’m sure about this. If I thought it wasn’t going to work I wouldn’t be so damn insistent about it!” She took a breath and got moving again. “It’s not like I want to send us all to our deaths.”

“I get it, boss. I totally see where you’re coming from. Personally, I’m pretty into the idea of not fighting all of them at once. I just meant that you haven’t always been the best at, ah, subterfuge.” Deacon was generally unreadable through his sunglasses. The last time she’d seen him actually nervous was getting aboard the Prydwen. He would get jittery once they got to the transit center but when he was on the job he’d keep it locked down.

“It may surprise you to learn that I’ve had them convinced I’m ruthless killer for almost two months.” She said with a smirk that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Not all of them really respect me but most of them do. Getting you into position shouldn’t be too hard.”

“I don’t know what’s harder to imagine: a bunch of bloodthirsty raiders thinking you’d make a glorious leader or there being real people who know you but don’t respect you.”

Sage cackled.

“Thanks for that. But listen, before we get out there, I want to apologize for, well, everything. It’s gonna be terrible and I’m going to have to act like a monster.”

“Looking forward to it. It’ll be nice to see how all my hard work teaching you how to lie has payed off.”

They kept up a comfortable chatter on their way to the transit center. Deacon had a good time getting Sage up to date while she’d been gone. Sage enjoyed calling him out things that were clearly bullshit. He still liked to test her. She wasn’t sure it was on purpose or it was just who he was. Sometimes she wanted to just let him talk and see what kind of ridiculous stories he could spin but he’d never let her live it down if he thought she believed him.

It got harder to joke once the station was in view. The sight of the sickly red sign made it feel like there was a rock in Sage’s stomach. Sage put on a lot of bravado, forced herself to exude confidence, but she did not want to go back.

She knew she had to. There was no other choice. Not after all this. She reminded herself, again and again, what they were fighting for as she walked through the station.

“You know how to deal with a shock collar, right?” Sage asked as they stepped on the train car.

 

* * *

 

 

 

The announcement came over the intercom as Sage and Deacon made their way out of Nuka Station.

“Ok, I know I just announced some newcomer was about to get fucked the Gauntlet,” Red-Eye exclaimed, “but they got out without dying so, uh, I guess the Overseer is back! Yeah! Welcome back, boss!”

He punctuated the broadcast with wild, terrible guitar playing. Sage sighed. She glanced at Deacon, who was smirking behind his sunglasses.

Shit. The sunglasses.

“Deeks, gimme your glasses. You look too casual.The raiders will just take them, anyway.” She said in a manic whisper.

“I- but-” He stammered as she plucked them off his face and hid them in her pocket. She knew they were like armor for him. Even she had rarely seen him without them.

“Sorry. Just for a little while. Now get into character, Dingo.”

 

Gage caught her in the market. The first announcement Red-Eye made jostled him awake but he wasn’t all that excited to deal with another wastelander with piss-poor luck. He moved pretty slow until a few minutes later, when the DJ followed up with another statement. Hearing that the Overboss was back definitely got him moving.

She was standing on the south side of the market, back straight and arms crossed. There was another person next to her, one Gage didn’t recognize. Some bald, middle aged man in a maintenance jumpsuit. He stood with his shoulders slouched and hands hanging limply at his sides. Looked like he’d rather be damn near anywhere else. Gage listened in on her conversation with the park handyman- Chip, or something- as he approached.

“He isn’t much for conversation, but he’s good with his hands. Isn’t that right, Dingo?” Sage looked down at the newcomer- Dingo, apparently- who stared at the ground and nodded. “What was that? You answer me when I speak to you.”

“Yes, boss. Sorry, boss.” The man mumbled.

“Good. Now-” She was about to turn back to Chip when she noticed Gage making his way towards them. Anxiety flared up in her chest at the sight of him, along with a dash a relief. He was someone she could rely on, at least up to her inevitable betrayal.

She didn’t quite greet him. She nodded at him and held up a hand. She was busy and he could wait a moment. With her back to Gage she gave the two men the orders they needed.

“-as I was saying, give him whatever kind of tour you need, set him up a collar, and use him as necessary. I’m sure he’ll come in handy.”

Chip’s eyes flashed between her and “Dingo”. Sage desperately hoped the old man knew how to keep things undercover. She’d made it clear to some of the slaves she sympathized with their plight but she never had a chance work things through with them.

“ _Here to help. Play along._ ” Sage mouthed silently at him when he still seemed stupefied. That shook him from his daze.

“Yes boss, th-thank you. I can think of half a doz-” Chip started rambling like he was trying to make up for lost time.

“I don’t care.” Sage turned away. “Just do what you have to do to keep this place running.”

“Welcome back, boss.” Gage said as she left the workers behind. “You find what you were lookin’ for?”

“We’ll go over it in the Fizztop,” Sage answered. “Anything happen while I was away?”

“All quiet,” He responded. “Everyone was real polite, just like you told them to be.”

“Good,” Sage said. They made their way out of the market and through the groups of desperate travelers.

A spark burned in Gage’s chest. There was no denying he was real glad Sage was back- it was another nail in the coffin for Shank’s paranoid gossip and damn if he didn’t miss having her around. More than anything, it meant they could start making moves on the Commonwealth.

Nuka Town was busy this time of day. The market in the middle was the main attraction;  Travelers didn’t have a lot of choices in this part of the wasteland. If they wanted to stock up they had to put up with the raiders. The unlucky, brave migrants were trying to finish up their restock and get moving before the sun got too low. Staying late in Nuka World was asking for trouble.

Sage wished she could give them a stronger hint to stay away for a while. Better yet, give them someplace safe to go.

Park visitors thinned out as they got away from the market. She and Gage were greeted by a few members of the Pack and given respectful nods from some Operators. There were few Disciples to be seen, even near the Fizztop, which made Sage nervous. Hairs stood up on the back of her neck while she eyed their usual loitering areas. She could see them standing around the entrance to their part of Fizztop Mountain. It was almost like they were waiting for something.   

They were a sneaky bunch. She didn’t let on she was spooked until they got to the relative safety of her repurposed penthouse.

“What have the Disciples been up to?” She asked as she got off the rickety elevator.

“Nothing I’m aware of. I guess they been more reclusive than usual.” He leaned against the railing with his arms crossed, staring down at the Disciples courtyard. “I’d say it’s been a nice change of pace but that’s a bit suspicious even for them, ain’t it?”

“Yeah, I’d say it is,” Sage said impatiently, running a hand through her hair. She should’ve expected this. The Disciples never did want to play nice with her.

At least they weren’t outright attacking her. Not yet, anyway. They must still be in the planning phase of whatever they were going to try. That was fine. Sage already had an ace up her sleeve, anyway.

“So what’s the plan, boss?” Gage asked as he crossed the room. He took a seat at the bar and lit up a cigarette. Sage was still facing away from him. He watched her roll her neck and shoulders before she got started. He could swear she seemed nervous but she was probably just working the Disciples new bullshit into her plan.

“There’s a settlement north east of the train station. It’s called Sanctuary or something.” Sage didn’t see the wicked smile that spread on Gage’s face. “It’s got some natural defenses but nothing we can’t handle. Plenty of resources there, too. It’ll be a cakewalk to set up base there and start doing what we do best.”

“That is exactly what I wanted to hear.” Gage said with his devilish grin. “When do we start? Who’re we-”

“Slow down, cowboy,” Sage said, now turning to him. “That settlement isn’t going anywhere and there’s still some work to be done here.”

It was almost comical how fast his face fell. She didn’t give him a chance to cut in.

“This is a big step, you know? And I want to make sure everyone knows exactly how hard we worked to make this happen. It was our blood, sweat, and tears that got us here. So we’re going to host a rally in the Fizztop Square.” She tried to read Gage’s expression. He was following, but it looked like he wasn’t sure he heard her right. “Get all the raiders in one place. Give them the news that we’re making this happen. That the Commonwealth will be ours.”

“You sure that’s wise, cramming all these animals together? The Disciples already want to stir up trouble,” Gage said.

“The Disciples _always_ want to stir up trouble.” Sage corrected with a smirk. “But I’m confident things will work out. Besides, it’ll be a celebration. Who wants to ruin the mood with murder?”

Gage chuckled and shook his head, then took a drag.

“I feel like I oughta argue,” he said as he blew out some smoke, “but all your hair-brained schemes have worked out so far, so sure. Let’s do it.”

A weight lifted off her chest. She had expected to have to debate this one with him, too. It would’ve made sense. This was one the stranger things she’d wanted to do. It was always nice when part of a plan went smoother than anticipated. Apparently all that trust she’d built up with him was finally paying off.

As long as Deacon pulled through on his part of the plan the whole thing might be a walk in the park.

 

* * *

 

Deacon wasn’t sure if this whole thing was better or worse than dealing with the Institute. At least these raiders didn’t have access to mind-blowing tech or anything. Of course, the tech they _did_ have could blow his mind straight out of his skull in the literal sense. The raiders were a whole lot less diligent than the Institute, to put it kindly, so he did have that going for him. There were guards patrolling the catwalks above the market but they didn’t pay very close attention, controlling the slaves mostly through fear.

Three days in, he could definitely see the differences between the gangs. Not just superficially, but their _modus operandis_ as well. It made sense Sage’d be most worried about the Disciples.

Now that it was his time to shine, he was pretty worried about them too.

Once Chip was on board it was easy enough to procure the things he needed- namely a disguise. He needed to blend in with the Disciples to make this work. It was going to be fun; they were the worst of the whole bunch.

That was like being the worst part of a rancid garbage pile.

The captive workers were sleeping on cardboard mats. Some behind their respective stalls, some just wherever they could find space. He studied the catwalks from his spot against the northern wall. There was only one guard left and, if his stillness and deep breathing was any indication, he was passed out. The others had all left to find a party somewhere else. Raiders: Not a very disciplined group of people.

Step one was getting the shock collar off. A couple small tools had found their ways into his pocket over the last few days- wire cutters, a screwdriver- but he almost didn’t need them. These collars were even shoddier than the ones he’d worked with before. Apparently Capital Wasteland slavers knew a bit more about doing upkeep on these things. Not that he was complaining. The lock mechanism seemed to just barely functional enough to be a problem for a layman, which Deacon was anything but. The collar popped off his neck with an almost inaudible click.

He slid it under a counter, pushing it far to the back. Hopefully the raiders wouldn’t even know he was missing. He squirmed into his disguise while hidden behind the counter. Not as fast as usual but this was a new getup. There hadn’t been any time to practice.

A pair of terrible sunglasses caught his eye before he left. Ridiculous red bottle cap glasses, with that god-awful cartoon character printed on the lenses. He had to have them. They wouldn’t help keep his cover, but he pocketed them all the same. They’d get one hell of an exasperated sigh from Carrington and that was a sound Deacon lived for. Something to look forward to. Assuming he got out of here in one piece, that is.

So there he was, wearing wearing dingy, grey armor with a cowl and stupid metal mask he could barely see out of. At least the mask would make it harder for them realize he shouldn’t be there. With the comforting weight of a combat knife in one pocket and a silenced pistol in the other, he slipped out of the market.

He had a pretty solid idea of where he was going. Head north from the market. Resist the urge to check out the arcade. Head to the doors on the east side of the mountain, which leads to the inner skeleton of the mountain. Find Nisha. Kill her.

Sounded pretty simple. He had a feeling the last two steps were going to be a challenge.

He tried not to look around too much while walking through Nuka Town. It was an exercise in hiding in plain sight. It was something he was pretty damn good at back in the Commonwealth. This pretending to be a raider was a first, though. Usually he just had to be a caravan guard or a barfly.

Fizztop Mountain loomed ahead of him. He veered to the left around the great pool of stagnant water. The elevator to the Fizztop Grille- Sage’s fancy raider penthouse- was stopped  up in the air. When he finished the job he’d have to sneak in through bottom floor. It would risk alerting Sage’s loyal advisor, but using the elevator would be a sure wake-up call. Should be easy enough for him to slink on in.

There were an awful lot of _shoulds_ and _hopefullys_ about this job. It made him nervous as hell. Too much of this plan relied on luck. He couldn’t deny it had been pretty painless so far. That didn’t mean a whole lot, though. It was the difference between fighting radroaches and stumbling in on a deathclaw den.

The guard out front of the Disciples territory grunted at him as he walked by. Sometimes it surprised him how far he could get just acting like he was supposed to be somewhere. The door opened with an ominous groan.

Sage had told him what to expect. Deacon still wasn’t prepared. The smell of old blood and smoke filled the air. The place was lit by trash can fires and just a few flood lights, giving it the worst mood lighting he had ever seen. It was hard to tell if the dark patches all around were shadows or malignant stains of mysterious origin. There were cages and heads on pikes and straight-up corpses everywhere he looked.

_Why has no one ever taught raiders how to decorate?_ Deacon thought as he swallowed the queasy feeling rising in his stomach.

He had to move. Standing in one place too long looked suspicious. There was a scaffolding winding around a central pillar; a mountain within a mountain. Nisha would be at the top.

Blood pounded in his ears as he made his way up. There was only one way to the top. He didn’t have anywhere to hide. The place was packed full of Disciples but they were mostly on the ground floor, either sleeping or just standing around. It seemed like they were waiting for something. Deacon didn’t have time to care. If he could get to the top without being stopped he could fall into the shadows and disappear. That was all he ever really wanted to do anyway, and now more usual. Everywhere he looked there were reminders of how badly this could go for him.

_Nope. Don’t think about that. We faced bad odds before_ , he thought. He knew how this went. If he let it get to him he’d get sloppy and that makes for a very bad time. Be observant. What’s around him, other than death and decay?  

An escape route started forming in his head. It would be a lot of hopping over railing and hoping the fall wouldn’t fuck up his legs. There weren’t a lot of nooks and crannies for hiding but the disheveled nature of their decor would make it harder for them to get a lock on him, once he got to the ground.

He was almost to the top. There was one raider leaning against the railing, watching the rabble down below. He couldn’t see her face, of course, but it was wasn’t his target. According to Sage, Nisha’s mask had weird metal wings sticking out of the side. This one looked like strips of metal made to look like bloody bandages. She was small one, too. Smaller than Deacon would’ve expected for someone in this line of work. He tried not to make any assumptions. He did not want to get caught underestimating anyone in this hellhole.

He kept moving forward. No one had stopped him so far. It was within reason that this person wouldn’t either.

“What’re you doin’ all the way up here, sugar?” The raider said in a sickly-sweet voice.

_Shit. Ok. That’s creepy as hell._

“Need to see Nisha. Got information she’s gonna want to hear,” Deacon replied.

“Well ain’t that somethin’.” She stood up straight and crossed her arms to face him. “Listen, sugar, it’s awful late to be bothering Nisha now. Why don’t you tell me what’s so important and I’ll pass it on in the morning.”

_Double shit. She must be a lieutenant or something._

“She needs to hear it now.” He paused. He didn’t want to incriminate anyone but it was only thing that might work. “It’s about the Overboss. Her plans.”

She tilted her head to left and stayed silent for a moment. Deacon felt like he was being analyzed, like she could see through his armor. He could feel sweat beading on his forehead. At least this god-awful mask kept his tells hidden. That did go both ways, of course. He had no insight on this lieutenant.

“Well, if it’s about the _Overboss_ , that’s different.” She said with much less warmth. She still managed to sound charming even in a more serious tone. Deacon made note; he would have to kill her but he could still learning something from her. If nothing else, he needed to remember her incredible accent.

She moved away from the railing and towards the shack on the top of the massive pillar. Deacon thanked his lucky stars that she apparently intended for him to follow. Nothing would have blown his cover like not knowing where he needed to go.

He really would have prefered to do this with his knife. Not that he really liked doing this stuff up close and personal but even a silenced pistol would make more noise than a knife across the throat. Unfortunately, her damn mask made it impossible to cover her mouth first. A scream would be even louder than the pistol.

The gun was drawn as soon as they stepped into the shadows. He waited another couple steps to let the darkness wrap around them. They were far enough from the edge that no one on the ground would see them but he had no idea who else might be up here. All he knew was leaving this raider alive would cause trouble. They were almost the door of the shack.

He wished his pulse would slow down.

He closed the distance between them. The cowl made it hard to know exactly where to place to the gun but he made due. He grabbed her by the shoulder and she got out a “Hey-” before the barrel of the gun found the base of her skull. He squeezed the trigger.

Deacon was ready for her to collapse and caught her before she crumpled to the ground. The smell of burnt flesh mixed with a sharp, chemical odor. He idly wondered where the bullet went; at this close range it would’ve gone right through. Maybe it hit the inside of her stupid metal mask.

There wasn’t anywhere good to stash the body. He couldn’t risk leaving the shadows but he didn’t know what awaited him in the shack. The best he could do was gently lay her down and push her against the wall. Maybe no one would notice until he was long gone. Maybe. Hopefully.     

With his back to the wall, he craned his neck to look through the doorway. There were no lights, not even a lantern. The only illumination came from the flood lights on the other side of the cement plateau, leaving eerie shadows.

He hated when his instincts told him to jump ship when he had a job to do.

Slipping into the room, he stuck close to the wall. It looked like a living room, ironically named seeing as the place was decorated with death. Apparently Nisha had a thing for knives. At least it was empty. Deacon pressed himself to the left of the doorway at another corner.

He stopped. It was silent. What he hoped to hear was the slow, steady breathing of someone sleeping. Some snoring would’ve really calmed his nerves. But it was absolutely quiet in this room, which meant either no one was here or they were expecting him.

If they were expecting him they wouldn’t have infinite patience. There might be raiders following him up the ramp right now. They might just charge around the corner and catch him unaware, while he was overwhelmed with doubt.

Or the room was empty and he was free to stash the body and find someplace to strike from when the moment was right.

It didn’t matter anyway. It wasn’t like he could go back. For better or worse, he had a mission. He peeked around the corner and found the room gloriously empty. At first he was flooded with relief. There was a terminal on one side of the room, next to a bed. On the other wall was a back door-

Deacon needed to leave immediately. The alarms blaring in his head made it hard to think. This was a trap. That other raider said this bitch was sleeping. Nisha must have caught on.

He sped towards the back door, forgoing stealth for the moment. He could come back later, or they could make come up with a different plan, or-

A man appeared at the door. Deacon stopped himself from running headfirst into him but his momentum didn’t do him any favors. The man stepped forward and slammed his fist devastatingly into Deacon’s chest. He toppled backward and fought to breathe.

_This is very bad_ , Deacon managed to think. He realized he was on his back, which was definitely the worst place for him to be. He struggled to get to his feet, to draw a weapon, to do anything, but the man was on top of him. One knee dug into his chest and the other pinned his right hand painfully against the floor. He ripped off Deacon’s mask and started throwing punches.

All he could do was lie there and take the beating. Through the pain it occurred to him this guys armor kind of made him look like deranged rabbit with an extra ear. That was a fun thought. He’d save that to sass him with later, if he ever got off the floor.

“That’s enough, Savoy.” Deacon heard a voice through the ringing in his ears. He couldn’t see who it was- there was too much blood in his eyes- but he could only assume it was Nisha. “If you kill him now we won’t be able to get any answers. Or have any fun with him later.”

 

* * *

 

 

Sage paced around the Fizztop. She checked the time on her pipboy; it was almost 4am. Deacon should’ve been back by now. He needed to be here by sunrise- earlier, actually. The attack was happening today and they did not have time for this holdup.

They did have a plan for this. If he wasn’t here in another half hour she was supposed to assume he was dead or captured. She knew the tunnels well enough to meet their army on the outside and give them a quick rundown but she couldn’t lead them. She had to be here to give the speech.

That possibility made her hands shake. She’d never be able to show her face at HQ if Deacon died here. Just another death that she caused. Another dead friend. Another failure. Deacon had good instincts, though; surely he’d pull out as soon as he got bad vibes. But what if he didn’t get the chance? Sage’s faith in him might have been his downfall.

She walked to the window and stared out over Nuka World. She held her hands behind her back, gripping each other to stop the shaking. These frayed nerves had no business cropping up in a time like this. She could panic later. There was work to do, even if all she could do right now was wait.

Sage was knocked loose from her musings when the door to the inside of the grille burst open. She turned toward the sudden clamor and her blood ran cold. Nisha and her favored enforcer stood in the doorway. Deacon, bloody and beaten, was held unceremoniously between them.

“I believe this piece of trash belongs to you.” Nisha sneered as they tossed Deacon at Sage’s feet. He rolled like a ragdoll, stopping on his side, and left a red smear on the floor.

Nisha took a step forward, all confidence and contempt, as Savoy turned to shut the door. Sage could already hear Gage jumping to action but Savoy had the brains to slide a wrench through the door handles.

“You know, I’m a little disappointed about how this has played out,” Nisha said. She began circling around Sage to the left while Savoy went to the right.

Sage felt rooted to the spot. From her vantage she couldn’t tell if Deacon was still breathing. All she wanted to do was throw herself at the floor and check his pulse but she couldn’t afford to take her eyes off the predators surrounding her.

“I knew you would betray me at some point but I certainly expected a bit more showmanship. What’s the point in taking out a rival if you don’t use it make a statement?” Nisha stopped a good eight feet from Sage. “Your pet would-be assassin did make short work of Dixie, which is a feat unto itself, but he still fell short. And for getting caught, he must be punished. As do you.”

Sage was trapped. Nisha and Savoy each stood an equal distance away from her, and between them all laid Deacon’s worryingly still form. A pistol waited uselessly on the diner booth by the window. Savoy was a veritable wall between her and it. Gage was pounding away at the improvised locked door- it sounded like he was throwing himself at it. Nisha was unconcerned; if anything she seemed entertained.

Nisha gave her enforcer a nod and Savoy wasted no time. He charged Sage, not bothering with any fancy maneuvers in the face of her unarmored form. She dodged his first swing, trying to duck around him to get to the pistol waiting on the far side of the room. In a split second he balled his fists together and slammed them into her back as she maneuvered passed him. She staggered forward, losing her balance in the momentum. She would have stayed on her feet if it hadn’t been for a stray empty Nuka Cola bottle. She cursed as her ankle twisted painfully and she hit the floor with a hard thud.

Savoy was over her in a heartbeat. A barbaric kick to the ribs- followed by another, and another- blocked out all her thoughts. Sage cried out again as she felt a crack and a stabbing pain in her chest. He grabbed her by the shoulder to throw Sage onto her back. The sudden, aggressive movement sent another shockwave through her abdomen. He held her by the front of her dingy Nuka World shirt and slammed his fist into her face.

“Stop,” Nisha said after just a couple hits. “You know I want the satisfaction of killing her. Bring her over here.”

Savoy obeyed. He dragged Sage to almost exactly where she started at in front of Deacon’s body. He forced her onto her knees and twisted her arms behind her back.

Sage was woozy. She could feel her left eye swelling shut and the taste of copper filled her mouth. Gage’s charging of the door seemed to have stopped but maybe it was just her tunnel vision on the scene before her.  

“That was a pathetic display.” Nisha started. She stepped around Deacon who, to Sage’s relief, seemed to twitch as Nisha moved passed. “ _You_ are supposed to be our great overboss? You can’t even plot an assassination correctly. Without your loyal dog Gage at your back you’re all but useless.”

Nisha stood over Sage. Sage glared up at her, refusing to show even more weakness from this awful position. She focused all of her hatred toward this monster of a woman and held onto that feeling for dear life.

“This lackey of yours was well-trained. We put him through an excruciating hell but he didn’t give us a drop of information. Just blood.” She paused, as if she was thinking back on a good memory. “He’s too loyal to you to be some random hired gun. He must mean something to you.’

Nisha squatted in front of Sage and grabbed a fistful of her hair, wrenching her head backward.

“Before I kill you, I’m going to kill him. You’re going to watch the life slip from his broken body. And then I’ll put a knife to your throat and you’ll know all the time you spent here, all your precious plans, have been for nothing.”

Sage spat blood at her face, splattering against her metal mask. Her disgusted grimace gave Sage a small swell of pride. Well worth the hard slap across her face.

Nisha turned back to Deacon. He let out a weak groan as she kicked him onto his back. A wicked-looking knife appeared in her hand. Sage struggled uselessly under Savoy’s grasp. It was happening too slowly and too fast all the same time. Nisha knelt down, digging a knee into his chest as she flipped the knife in her hands. She glanced at Sage with an evil smirk curling on her lips. All-consuming rage boiled in Sage’s chest, matched only by her deepest regrets.   

An explosion rocked the room, sending the doors off its hinges and knocking everyone off balance. Gage stampeded out of the dust and smoke that filled the air, screaming like a demon. He charged straight for Nisha, who was barely getting to her feet. He tripped over Deacon, hidden by the smoke and his laser-focus, and used the momentum to tackle Nisha to ground. They struggled for control of Nisha’s knife; it was the only thing that would give either of them the upper hand.

The blast caused Savoy to loosen his hold on Sage and seeing Nisha in danger distracted him even more. Sage took the opportunity to roll from his grasp and fling herself again toward her waiting pistol. Savoy tackled her legs before she got too far and slammed her onto the ground, forcing her to grit her teeth against another shooting pain in her ribs. She jerked a leg free and kicked back at his face. Her first try was useless; the second knocked the mask from his face. A third kick gave a satisfying crunch. A freshly broken nose left him unbalanced enough for her to wriggle free.

Sage was on her feet again. She was running, forever running, toward the booths. The gun was finally in arms reach. She swiped the pistol off the table as she ran passed it. Its weight did not bring her comfort, but it did bring relief. She could hear Savoy tearing behind her, his breathing laborious through his broken nose. She had to act fast. She turned on a dime and brought the gun up but her assailant was already there. They crashed into the expansive window. She was pinned. Her gun hand was crushed against the cool glass and a knife was held to her throat.

“I am _tired_ of this fucking game,” he growled. Blood was still streaming out of his broken nose and covering the lower half of his face. With his teeth bared he looked like an unhinged monster.

Behind them, Nisha and Gage were still wrestling on the floor. Nisha’s agility had given her the advantage at first. She couldn’t slip from their chaotic tangle. Gage couldn’t pin her down enough to win the fight. The knife was still clutched in her hand. She’d gotten a slice in across his arm, across his chest, but it wasn’t enough to drown his vicious tenacity. She was losing ground.

It had been some time since Nisha had felt real fear. The realization that she may have underestimated this man was like a punch to the stomach.

Gage was on top of her. If he could just get the knife out of her hand he could win this. The slippery bitch was too fast for him. Every move he made for the knife put another gash across him. He gave up going for the knife. Instead he crushed his hands around her exposed throat. He pushed down harder as she struggled underneath him. Her goddamn mask denied him the satisfaction of seeing the fear in her eyes. Knowing she was dead would have to be satisfaction enough.

Nisha had one shot. One hope to get out of this alive. She dug the knife into the only place she could reach. She slammed it into the thick part of his shoulder, sinking it in all the way up to the handle.  She gulped in air as Gage recoiled away. The knife was out of her reach but now she could do one better.

“Sav!” She choked out. It was impossible to tell where he was. She could only assume he was dealing with the Overboss.

Sage was still restrained against the window. The knife at her throat was digging in. She could feel her skin starting to give way, her blood mixing with sweat. Savoy snarled like the beast he was. Nisha’s voice came to them, almost panicked. Savoy paused; his hunger for blood was interrupted by concern for his mistress.

It was just the distraction Sage needed. She jabbed her knee hard into his crotch. He cursed, flinched away, finally freeing Sage. She brought the gun up again. Their eyes met for just a moment. There was no fear in Savoy, only hatred and fury. Sage squeezed the trigger.

The gunshot rattled the room. A body hit the floor with a wet thud. Gage pulled the knife out of his shoulder and glared down at Nisha. Blood poured down his arm and stained his ragged shirt.

“You ain’t gettin’ out of this one.” Gage growled, holding the bloody knife in his fist. He slammed the knife down into her throat. The wet, hysterical gurgles that came from her were less satisfying than he thought they’d be. He pulled the knife out and sliced it across her throat. He wondered if she appreciated the favor of ending it quickly.  

The silence that followed was deafening. Gage staggered up from his awkward position on Nisha’s corpse. His heart hammered in his chest as he desperately looked around for Sage. It was an indescribable relief, something he never expected to feel so powerfully, when he locked eyes on her.

She was leaning against the window that looked over Nuka Town. Maybe it was better to say the window was holding her up. Her head was nodded back against the glass with her eyes shut and her arms were limp at her sides.

At least she was standing.

Gage had tunnel vision. He quickly stepped through the destruction that littered the grille, only vaguely wondering about the bald guy on the floor, and got to her just as she started to slip sideways down the window. Her eyes jolted back open as she suddenly realized she was moving, catching herself with an awkward lurch. Gage’s hands shot out for her but holding onto his shoulder was all she needed to balance herself.

“Jesus Fucking Christ, Sage.” Gage said, “Are you ok? What the hell just happened?”

“Sort of. I-” She flinched as she tried to stand up straight, all too aware of her bones. “Christ. Motherfucker broke my ribs. How did you-”

“Duct tape and mines.” Gage interrupted. “Let’s get you in a chair. Looks like you been through hell.”

They wobbled over to the ugly yellow chairs in front of the windows a few feet away. Sage sat down as gently as she could manage. The adrenaline was fading from her system. She felt like she’d been hit by a train. Maybe two. Gage rushed to the first aid kit stashed away in the bar. A couple stims and some med-x oughta be enough.

Just as Sage was injecting herself with the painkiller there was a groan from across the room.

In all the excitement, Sage had almost forgotten about Deacon. She tried to push herself out of the chair but Gage put a firm hand on her shoulder and forced her to say put.

“You sit your ass down. We can deal with that after we make sure you ain’t gonna fuck yourself up even worse.” Gage fussed. “Lift your fuckin’ arms up so your ribs don’t heal all hunched over an’ weird.”

Sage held her arms up like good patient. She would have teased him for worrying about her if she didn’t have Deacon and their entire plan weighing on her mind. What the hell time was it? Was the sun coming up yet? She almost didn’t notice Gage sticking her with the stim but she certainly felt the relief of her bones stitching back together.

Sage took a deep breath. It was nice to do so without it being accompanied by stabbing pain.

“Thanks, Gage.” She said, looking up at him. “Christ, your arm-”

She stood as she realized his arm was covered in blood. Gage seemed genuinely surprised at her concern.

“I’ve had worse. It ain’t worth wasting a stim on.” He responded, waving her off. He stepped aside to let her passed. There was still someone that needed to be handled. Now that Sage was up and healing he finally felt like he could breath.

Part of him wished he could tell her how god damn glad he was that she was was ok. He’d never been as scared in his damn life as he was while trapped on the other side of that door. He was used to the kind of fear that came from a fight. It was invigorating. It heightened your senses and made you feel _alive_ . This new fear of losing something- some _one_ \- made him feel like he was drowning. He didn’t like it.

But, as usual, there was work to do. They didn’t have time for him to sit and stew about this kind of bullshit.

“Grab another stim.” Sage called back to him as she made her way to where Deacon was splayed out.  
“What, you still hurtin’?” He joked.

Sage didn’t answer. Deacon was laying where Nisha had left him. She hadn’t been able to really look him over but, god, the Disciples had done a real number on him. He was a man made of sickly green bruises, jagged cuts, and unpleasantly bent fingers. There was a tale told in his injuries and she did not want to know the half of it.

“A med-x, too.” She said as he gave her the stim. She set it aside got to work shifting Deacon so he was laying flat and shoved a balled-up shirt under his head. Deacon’s face scrunched in pain as she moved him, which she took as a good sign.

“I need you to go get Mackenzie from the market- the medic, I mean.” Sage said as she injected Deacon with a small dose of med-x.

“Really?” Gage asked. “Who is this guy? What the hell’s going on?”

“I will tell you,” Sage said decisively, “as soon as you get back with the medic. I don’t know what those bastards put him through and if I give him a stim before his bones are set he’ll be fucked.”

“Sure, boss.”

He knew she was right but he didn’t have to like it. She was keeping him in the dark about something. He rode the rickety elevator to the ground and made his way toward the market.

As soon as Gage was out of earshot, she got to work.

“Deacon, are you awake? Can you hear me?” She said urgently.

“Hell of a tight ship you run here, boss.” Deacon grumbled.

“Oh my god.” Sage breathed. “I’d hug you but that probably would hurt. I’m so sorry. What the fuck- how did-”

“Not a good time. Spare you the dirty details.” Deacon shifted on the ground and winced at his own movement. “I’ll just stay put.”

“How long have you been awake? God, you can’t run the tunnels in this state. Christ. How are we supposed to do this?” Sage was talking rapidly, not quite speaking to Deacon. Just venting her anxieties.

“Not sure. Kinda remember the explosion. Doesn’t matter anyway. We don’t have a lotta time.” He struggled to reach into his shirt, pulling out a tiny wad of paper. “They got my glasses but they didn’t get this.”

“I- I’ll make this up to you someday, I swear. This- this was supposed to be easier.” She said as she took the note.

“Best laid plans. Coulda been worse.” He flinched again. “Just make sure our next family vacation involves fewer raiders.”

She gingerly unfolded the paper while Deacon caught his breath. It was a map. A simple sketch of the tunnels, along with a key to the railsigns.

“You beautiful bastard.” Sage murmured, studying the map.

“Aw, you’re just saying that.” He drew a shaky breath. “Drew a ton of railsigns down there. As long as they get that map they’ll be fine.”

Sage chewed her lip. It was going to fall on her to deliver this map; There was no other choice. Taking the tunnels out to the junkyard would waste time. All she had to do was skirt around the Galactic Zone. She could manage that, just as long as she could avoid provoking Gage’s suspicion. She needed him on her side until the very last moment.

“Gage is gonna be back in a few minutes with a doctor. She’ll patch you up, but just keep being Dingo, ok? Gage will probably ask you questions but you don’t know anything.”

Deacon let out a short laugh, followed by a grimace. Apparently laughter hurt. But then, Sage figured everything hurt.

“This isn’t my first rodeo. Or my second. I got this.”

Sage felt a pang of guilt. Of course he knew what he was doing. It was her fault things were going so poorly. At least they had just enough time to make the plan work.

 

* * *

 

 

The elevator shuddered to life again. Gage had been gone maybe fifteen minutes. Sage was ready. Light armor, her trusted rifle and a side arm, and some stimpacks. She stashed some med-x on her, too. Never knew when it would come in handy.

She saw Mackenzie first. The medic clutched the straps of her bag of supplies with white knuckles. It occured to Sage this might have been the furthest she had ever been into Nuka World. The workers were generally confined to the market. Gage stood behind her as they waited to get off the elevator.

Sage watched the blood drain from her face as she surveyed the room. She forgot how sickening gore was for most people. In the market Mackenzie was protected from the more horrifying things raiders tended to participate in. Gage probably hadn’t even warned the poor girl. She wished she could do something about it. Now wasn’t the time.

Sage fell into character.

“Mackenzie, here.” She said. The young woman was hesitant about crossing the room. But she couldn’t say no the Overboss. Gage let out an obviously forced cough that startled Mackenzie off the elevator.

“I expect Gage filled you in. I need this man alive.” Sage gestured down to Deacon, doing his best to act unconscious- or maybe he had actually passed out again. “I don’t know what the Disciples did to him and he’s in no state for answering complicated questions. I want him on his feet as soon as possible.”

Mackenzie nodded and got to work without a word. Sage looked to Gage. He stood with his arms crossed and wearing a deep frown. Sage nodded toward the back room, now door-less. She turned, Gage followed. When they got to a deeper side room Gage finally spoke his mind.

“You owe me some answers.”

“Yup.” Sage leaned against a pillar and crossed her arms, facing him. “It’s not as deep as you think. We all knew Nisha was going to be a problem so I figured I’d nip it in the bud. I worked with Dingo on several jobs before I came here, and he owed me a few favors, so I looked him up while I was in the Commonwealth. I thought we could catch her unaware. Clearly I was wrong and things went kind of tits-up.”  
“Yeah. Kinda.” He said flatly. “That don’t explain why you didn’t fuckin’ tell me.”

“I didn’t want to risk her catching on. I know you wouldn’t have told anyone but if someone heard us talking, this would’ve gone even worse than it already did.” Gage looked unimpressed at her explanation, maybe even offended. Sage sighed and stared at the floor. “And, listen, you might not get it but sometimes keeping information from someone can be a way of protecting them. If Nisha had come after you for information, you wouldn’t have known anything. And since you’re kind of a shit liar she might’ve just let you be.”

It wasn’t the truth. It wasn’t a complete lie, either.

Sage coughed.

“Now you want to know why I’m geared up and it’s because I have work to do. I can’t tell you what it is right now-”

“You gotta be shitting me.” Gage interrupted. “You almost _died_ like thirty minutes and you wanna go off on your own again?”

“Nisha, Savoy, and Dixie wanted me dead more than anyone else in Nuka World. With them out of the way I think I’ll do just fine.”

“Then why do you have to go at all? What’s so goddamn important? We’re so close to finally doin’ what we set out to do and I don’t want to lose-” he paused, choking on his words. Fighting a deathclaw was easier than this. _Fuck it_ , he thought. “I don't wanna lose you. I ain’t ever had anyone in my life like you. If anyone else had made it through the Gauntlet I guarantee the gangs woulda left me for dead by now. I owe you damn near everything and you keep risking it all, acting like it don’t matter. I thought you were gonna die today and I ain’t ever been that scared in my life.”

Conversation halted. They were both surprised at how much he had said. Sage had hoped to never address that particular elephant in the room. She never realized how deep it went. She hated it.

“I ain’t asking for much. I don’t- I don’t need any more than our current arrangement.” He said, hoping he hadn’t already pushed too far. “I just need to know what the hell is going on. It’s supposed to be my job to help you. I can’t help if I don’t fuckin’ know anything.”

Sage thought back to weeks ago, when Gage had expressed similar sentiments in more roundabout terms. She remembered how she decided to ignore it, to backpedal, to go cold and hope it faded. Or at least that she’d feel less guilty. It stung just as badly, knowing that what she would do today would, in all likelihood, break this man. She could tell herself all she wanted that he deserved it. He’d been a raider nearly his entire life. She couldn’t help that she had a soft spot for him.

She hoped he’d forgive her someday.

“You said you trusted me.” Sage started. She didn’t say it like an accusation or as a challenge, just a matter of fact. “I know this has all been crazy, especially the last couple weeks. But I need you to keep trusting me. After the rally today I swear I will tell you everything and we- we can figure out where we stand. But for now I need you to let me go.”

Gage didn’t know how to the answer. He half expected her to just lose all respect for him, given he’d just dumped out his entire stupid goddamn heart at her feet. He nodded and stepped aside.

“What am I doing while you’re gone?” He asked at her back as she headed to the elevator.

“Have Mackenzie patch you up when she’s done with Dingo. And then do something about these corpses stinking up my living room.” She smiled at the chuckle that came from Gage. “After that just make sure we’re all set for the show.”

“You got it, boss.” He said. She got on the elevator and pressed the button. “Good luck out there.”

Sage just nodded at him as the elevator descended.  

 

* * *

 

The junkyard was southwest of the Galactic Zone. Their mishmashed army had probably already been there for hours. With the sun already peeking over the horizon behind her, Sage didn’t have much time to get there. She cursed at how much time this whole mess had taken, from dealing with Nisha to soothing Gage.

Deacon was supposed to do this under cover of darkness. At least Sage knew how to stick to the shadows. She also had the advantage of being the Overboss. No one would question her. No one outside of Nuka Town knew what had transpired that morning. There were shouts and panicked conversation coming from the undermount but it was easy enough to avoid. She knew exactly what bee was up the Disciples bonnet and there was no time for that.

She headed for the Galactic Zone. It was a straight shot and all she ran into were a few drugged out raiders. They gave her some respectful nods and then left over alone. She wondered what it said about her that she’d gained the average raiders’ respect so easily. Probably nothing good.

There wasn’t a road that lead directly to the junkyard from where she was. Once she crossed one of the footbridges westward she turned south. She stuck close the wall surrounding the Galactic Zone for a long as possible. Once she got around to the south side she could see the junkyard.

She felt an emotional whiplash. For over an hour she’d been in constant state of panic- first worried about Deacon, then fighting for her life, then dealing with this- but the ease of getting to the junkyard almost an overwhelming relief. She was so close. An alarm rang in her skull telling her this was too easy. She shushed it; the morning had been hell so far. Surely she’d earned a little luck on her side.

The sun was fully over the horizon by the time she got there. A few men stood watch out front of the warehouse; Sage held her hands up as she approached. It would be disgustingly ironic to get shot by her own army. They recognized her when she got close enough and one guard frantically sent the other inside.

Preston and Hancock met her as she stepped up onto the patio.

“General? Where’s Deacon?” Preston asked.

“What the hell happened?” Hancock jumped in. The bruises Savoy had left on her face had faded significantly since the stimpacks but she couldn’t hide the telltale yellow-green splotches around her eyes.

“It’s a long story. All you really need to know is things went south. Deacon’s alive, at least, but he won’t be able to lead you through the tunnels.”

“Are we sure that’s even a good option at this point? The whole idea was to get there before sunrise.” Preston said, looking past her and gazing at Nuka World. Sage wondered if part of him saw Quincy out there.

“Heading for the tunnels will still be less risky than trying to go all the way around. If we see any raiders, well, we’ve got a sniper, right? That Maccready guy?” Sage answered.

“How’re we gettin’ through? If Deeks is down for the count, what’s the plan?” Hancock asked. Sage pulled the folded up paper out of a pocket, holding it between two fingers.

“Deacon drew a map.” It was an advantage she wanted to smile about but any mirth seemed inappropriate just yet. “He said he also left railsigns down there- you see anything drawn in chalk you don’t recognize, check with the agents to see if they know what it means.”

Preston took the note and studied the map, Hancock peering over his shoulder.

“One last thing,” Sage said, “I can lead you to the tunnels, but I can’t get you through them. I have to be back in the park for my big speech.”

Preston nodded. He went back inside the warehouse, presumably to gather up their forces and get ready to move. Sage took the moment to lean against Hancock, who wrapped her in a protective hug.

“So who was it?” He growled.

“What?”

“Who knocked Deacon outta commission? Was it the same fucker that did a number on you?” Sage felt his arms tense up around her. “If it was that Gage guy you talked about, I swear to god-”  

Sage barked out a short laugh.

“No, don’t worry about it. The guy that did this is very dead.” She paused, wishing she didn’t feel so guilty. “And actually Gage saved my life this morning. It was bad.”

Hancock kissed her forehead. He could tell how worried she was, how little sleep she’d gotten. This was going to be a rough day for a lot of reasons. He didn’t want her to have to care about this old raider she spent so much time working with, along with everything else she had on her shoulders. He couldn’t blame her for caring, though. Apparently she owed him her life, which meant Hancock owed him, too.  

Sage thought about telling him of Gage’s emotional confession. She knew how she felt about it; mostly pity, mixed with regret. She shouldn’t have let herself warm up to him so fast. She shouldn’t have let him get close.

They didn’t have time to deal with it anyway. The two of them stepped apart as they heard Preston rallying the troops, mass footsteps heading toward the door. Sage and Hancock stepped aside while their small army filed down the steps and massed on the ground in front of the warehouse. Dozens of nervous men and women, wearing mismatched armors and shifting their weapons in their hands. Sage dearly hoped they’d all make it back home.

It was a huge relief that no one asked her to speak. She was afraid they might; she was the General, after all. Preston had it all under control, as he usually seemed to nowadays. Sage was proud of him. He’d grown- no, healed- so much since she first found him and the other settlers trapped in Concord. He spoke to their army standing up on the patio with her, Hancock, and Nick. They reaffirmed the plan and Preston rallied about protecting the Commonwealth and making it a better place. Maybe not everyone deserved a second chance, but what kind of people would they be if they didn’t offer it?

Sage made a mental note to offer Preston the full mantle of General when they all got home. Maybe he’d accept it this time.

The sun rose above Nuka World. Sage gazed at the park as Preston and their army finished their preparations. The way the sunlight bounced off the dilapidated attractions was almost beautiful. It always struck her as so strange, the way the wasteland managed to be breathtaking in the rare, quiet moments. She bathed in it for as long as she could, then drew a breath. It was time to start this war in earnest.

 

 

* * *

 

It was getting awful hard for Gage to ignore his instincts. They had kept him alive, ever since dealing with with Connor all those years ago. If he’d been any less on his toes he’d have been dead right there. Since then he’d made a point of knowing which way the wind was blowing. He always trusted his gut.

This was different. It was getting on his nerves, not knowing what was wrong. He could see easy enough that Sage was putting him off balance. He blamed it on all these stupid feelings that kept bubbling up inside him. It’d be enough to distract damn near anyone. It wasn’t his fault the new Overboss ended up being a stone-cold badass, deadly as a deathclaw, prettier than the night sky. He was just a man.

But damn if something about this whole situation didn’t make him itch. This newfound attachment bullshit couldn’t really explain why he felt so on edge. He didn’t like the way Nisha’s attack had been staged. Sage was being cagey. The chill he’d felt before she headed to Commonwealth had followed her right back. When she first got to Nuka World it had taken some time to warm up to him- to the whole situation- but the last few weeks before she left had been downright comfortable.

It occurred to him, while he was stringing up the bodies of Nisha and Savoy onto the balcony, that she’d taken this sudden turn when he introduced the next step of the plan- to start taking pieces of the Commonwealth.

The last conversation he’d had with Shank played in his head. Doubt creeped in.

He shook it off.

At least he tried to. It worked pretty well, until about ten minutes later when some low-level Operator showed up. He looked antsy. He shifted the gun in his hands as his eyes bounced between the corpses hanging above him. The kid had the good sense not to ask questions.

It was too bad the news he brought Gage sent ice through his veins.

  


Sage didn’t like what she found at the Fizztop. The bodies hanging outside the grille were a grisly sight. She supposed it would make an impact; a statement, if she wanted to mirror part of Nisha’s monologue. What made her more nervous was the way the raiders around her seemed to be raring up for something. The rally wasn’t supposed to be for another couple hours. Plenty of time for her army to get in position now that they finally had a way in.

Raiders ran around like wasps below her as she rode the elevator up. The only thing she could think of was they’d somehow been tipped off to the attack. She tried to calm her heart pounding in her chest. If they expected the attack she would need to orchestrate some kind of distraction and she’d need her wits for that. Panic did not become her.

Gage was pacing around the room. His scuffed, yellow cage armor was weighing on his shoulders. It had been a common sight as they’d battled the horrors that had taken up residence in parks, working together to survive. Now seeing him ready for battle when he shouldn’t be, his grim set mouth and tense jaw line, filled her with dread.

He stopped his restless patrol as Sage stepped off the elevator.

“Boss,” he started, “we got trouble.”

“Yeah, I picked up on that.” She said, jerking her head back towards Nuka Town. “What’s going on?”

“Intruders. Spotted out near the old junk yard.” He frowned, like he wasn’t sure exactly what to say for a moment. “Didn’t get a solid count on ‘em. We also ain’t sure where they got off to. I sent word to the other parks to be on the defensive.”

Sage chewed her lip and scowled. This was exactly why they’d wanted to get into the tunnels before sunrise. They still sort of had element of surprise on their side; at least the raiders didn’t know how many they were or where they went. But how to handle it from here?  
Gage studied her. He didn’t want to rely on his paranoid instincts- not when it came to her- but he needed them. Something was happening. He desperately needed to know if Sage was who he thought she was. It hurt that he couldn’t read her response.

“We might want to put off this rally of yours,” he said. He was pushing her, gently as he could manage. He saw the slight movement of her throat as she swallowed, the squint of her eyes as she thought. “Once we flush out these rats-”

“No.” Sage interrupted. “We’ll hold it early. I’ll announce it over the intercoms.”

“Why the hell-”

“If we get our army in one place, our forces can’t be blocked in. They can’t divide and conquer if we’re all in the town square. What’s a bunch of angry wastelanders gonna do against _us_ , anyway?”

Gage blinked. That was actually pretty sound thinking. He shouldn’t be so surprised; Sage was a born leader, after all. She was usually full of good ideas. He could believe her. Moreover, he wanted to believe her.

He also sure liked the sound of _our army_.

The distrustful voice in back of his head spoke up: _What if she’s just telling me what I want to hear?_

“Is everything ready?” Sage asked, heading further into the Fizztop.

“As ready as it can be,” Gage answered. He walked with her.

“How’s Dingo?”

“Fine. Bridgeman and I carried him into a side room to sleep off whatever the Disciples put him through. Then she patched me up and headed back to the market.” He replied.

They did a final check on their setup. She had borrowed the market handyman, Chip, for a day to get this thing all ready. He combined a ham radio with a few other contraptions to hook her into the speakers that were placed all over the park. All she had to do was switch it on.

A burst of screeching static rang out through the entire park. Raiders all over the park winced at the sound, more than a few were startled awake. Sage drew a breath.

“Good morning Nuka World! This is your Overboss speaking.” She paused, letting the feedback fade for a moment. “There’s been a change of plans. We’re starting this party early. Get your asses to Fizztop Square. The sooner you get here, the sooner we can handle our surprise guests.”

Sage pressed the off button. She rolled her shoulders and ran through a mental prep list.

“Ya know, now these intruders know exactly where to find us at.” Gage said behind her.

“They also know that we know they’re here. They lost their advantage.” Sage answered without missing beat.

There was an uncomfortable moment of silence. Sage could feel a storm coming at her from all directions. She turned away from the wide view of the square and found Gage leaning against a desk with his arms crossed. He was trying to look aloof. The tightness in his shoulders and clenched fists gave him away. They were closer to the razors edge than Sage realized.

“So where’d you go? What was so urgent you had to be gone for a couple hours?” Gage asked.

“I told you I’d answer all your questions after the rally.” Sage said, sounding unfazed. She felt like she had a rock in her stomach.

“With all due respect, boss, I want to know now. Something about all this don’t feel right.” He wasn’t showing his whole hand yet; Sage could tell. Her pulse quickened. She hadn’t been able to come up with a convincing explanation for her trip. She needed to throw him off somehow.

“Can we handle one thing at a time? Speaking of the rally, I need to get ready for it, _and_ the great hunt for the wannabe-invaders after it.” She walked passed him, headed toward her armory. The light leather armor had been fine for running her mission but things were about to heat up.

“God damn it, Sage!” He slammed a fist hard against the tabletop and the impact stopped Sage in her tracks. “This song and dance ain’t doin’ you any favors. I know something’s up.  Someone in leather armor was spotted moving outta Nuka World and toward the junkyard after you left here.”

He hadn’t meant to go from zero to sixty so fast. If she was about to turn on them he should have been more careful. It was too late for that. Subtlety wasn’t his best skill, even less so when he was wearing his heart on his sleeve.

Sage still had her back to him. She didn’t want to turn around. The blood had drained from her face and that was as good as a signed confession.

“I need to know it wasn’t you. If you tell me what you were doing I can go back to trusting you. We can forget all about this and I’ll never bring it up again.” Anger crackled in his voice, barely containing a strained and desperate emotion he didn’t have the words for. “Just fucking tell me. Tell me it wasn’t you.”

The air between them was heavy. Outside, she could already hear raiders starting to filter into the courtyard. Blood pounded in her ears as she frantically tried to think.

But there was nothing. There was no good reason she would’ve been out there. Hell, she was surprised he’d even bought her argument why she needed to leave in the first place. Gage had a good head on his shoulders. She knew that the only reason he fell in line so easily was that it was _her_.

_If I tell him the truth_ , she wondered, _what will he do?_

She let out a resigned sigh. Her shoulders slouched in a way that made Gage feel like someone had stabbed him in the chest. She still couldn’t face him.

“I don’t have a good answer for you.” The words fell out of her mouth like lead. “It’ll all make sense after the rally.”

“I don’t fucking believe this,” Gage hissed. “Who are they, you’re old gang? What the hell is going on?”

“Drop it, Gage. It doesn’t matter.” Sage said.

“The hell it doesn’t!” He wasn’t sure what kept him rooted the spot, what stopped him from drawing his gun. He was at a loss for words.

Sage straightened her back and turned to him. She didn’t have time for guilt, or pity.

“What happens today will be better for everyone and I can do it with or without you. If you don’t want to be a part of it then leave.” She stood with fists clenched. She was stone-faced and steady. It was all the reasons he’d fallen in love with her and nothing could prepare him for how agonizing it was to see that opposed to him.

The ultimatum hung between them. They stared daggers at one another. They were an immovable object and an unstoppable force. As the seconds ticked by Sage wondered how this was going to end. She saw the tiniest sag in his hardened stance, the bob of his adam’s apple as he swallowed.

He wasn’t a weak man but Sage was stronger. There was too much as stake for her to be anything less. She turned her back on him, continuing forward down the hallway.

“I have work to do. Do whatever you want.” She said, final and cold.

When Sage had finished gearing herself up, Gage was nowhere to be found. She was alone in the Fizztop. Bitter regret burned in the back of her throat. She reminded herself again and again, like a mantra, that he was just a raider.

 

* * *

 

“Well, boys, girls, savages, and everything else! Today’s the day the Overboss makes her big announcement in Fizztop Square. Why’s it called that? It ain’t square shaped. Whatever. According to that all-call she made, the show’s starting early! I’m guessing that’s got something to do with the intruders that’s got us all abuzz,” RedEye rambled. “Also, maybe those new Nisha-and-Savoy shaped bodies decorating her balcony? Well, we all knew that was gonna happen eventually. Just goes to show, you do _not_ want to fuck with our Overboss.”

There was a pause while he strummed mindlessly on his guitar.

“I hope this shindig starts soon. The square is filling up fast and I’m not sure how long you fuckers can stay in an inclosed space like this and not start murdering each other. Let’s try to stay on, well, probably not _good_ behavior. Human, at least?”

Sage had switched the radio on as she finished her preparations. She still wondered where Gage had gone off to, more out concern for him than she’d like to admit. There was also the fact that he had it in him to be a real wrench in the works. That RedEye hadn’t mentioned him was probably a good sign.

It was an oversight on her part that she hadn’t made a real plan for Gage. Having him on her side all the way through the rally might have worked. If Nisha hadn’t been a problem, if everything had worked the way she wanted. She should have known it wouldn’t be that easy. Hindsight was 20/20, of course, and dwelling on it wouldn’t solve her problems. All she could do was keep moving forward.

She checked on Deacon; he was still unconscious. She left him be, but locked the door. Any fighting that broke out shouldn’t make it up there but he’d be able to get himself out it became necessary.

The cacophony of the courtyard was growing. More and more raiders piled in and Sage was thankful it sounded like a debaucherous party rather than a battle. Of course, the two had more than a little overlap when it came to raiders.

She was pulled out of her thoughts when the chanting started.

“Oh-ver Boss! Oh-ver Boss! Oh-ver Boss!” The sound of a hundred raiders shouting for her washed over her. Her heart pounded. Her palms were sweaty and she wished Gage were there, which was confusing.

It didn’t matter. The show was about to start. There was no way to know if her friends were in position. They would’ve had to rush after she made her announcement.

She slowed her breathing and rolled her shoulders. It was time to step into character. Someone as charismatic and unyielding as Hancock, minus the moral backbone. It put a bad taste in her mouth. It was easy to take solace in the fact that this would be the last time she had to be this person.

She walked out onto the balcony, bathed in sunlight and greeted by relentless applause that gave her goosebumps. She had never been one for showboating. She stood with her chin high, arms crossed in front of her, and in a wide, almost masculine, stance. She was here for business. The raiders kept on cheering, rabid with excitement. Sage let it go on for another few seconds, letting them have their moment, before she put her hands up.

She switched on the speaker system as they died down. The screeching feedback drowned them out. It was her time.

“I’m glad to see all you bastards made it here today. Yeah, even you, Disciples. I bet we’ve got a better understanding now, don’t we?” She glared down at the almost sheepish raiders congregating outside the entrance to the undermount. “Don’t worry, I won’t hold your leaders mistakes against you. We’ve got too much to look forward to for me to get petty about it. I know you’ll never try me again. You all know better than to test me now.”

 

Gage was listening from the downstairs lobby. After that god-awful reveal from Sage he just wanted to lash out at everything. he spent ten minutes throwing empty nuka cola bottles and beating the shit out of the soda machine with a wrench. For another twenty minutes he didn’t know what to do. Nothing made sense. He’d never been one to sulk but sometimes all you can do is marinate in your grievances.

Hearing her speak made it worse. She sounded so real. Everything he’d ever worked for was standing up on that balcony, talking to the raiders who once wanted her dead like royal subjects and they were eating it up. She had them in the palm of her hand.

It didn’t make any goddamn sense. He had no clue what her plan might be. What could she be getting out of this? Were the intruders using her somehow? Maybe they had some dirt on her, maybe they were holding something over her, something she cared about. She always did _care_ an awful lot more than most raiders.

Her being blackmailed somehow made a hell of a lot more sense than a betrayal. But then, what did she mean by this being better for everyone?

He sat in a chair, hunched over with his elbows on his knees and holding his head in one hand. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he should be up there with her, angry and confused as he was. It was tearing him up. Their arguments and his cynicism ran circles in his head. She stood in the middle of it, like a missing piece he never knew he’d lost.

It was a goddamn mess. Hearing her voice, so genuine and solid, made him wonder more than anything if _he_ was the one that fucked it all up. How could she being lying to him? Maybe he owed her some faith. She hadn’t lead him astray so far.

That paranoid voice in his head kept screaming. He was tired of listening to it. Maybe it had been holding him back the entire time. He called the elevator down, hoping to be up top in time for Sage’s triumphant moment.

 

Sage was stalling. She needed to give her troops as much time as possible to get into place. The raiders were clearly getting bored with her speech. She felt sweat beading on her forehead. Panic was starting to pool in her belly.

A glint of light across the courtyard caught her eye. She got lost mid-sentence and focused on it. The light came from the tower she’d told the young sniper to set up in. It was too far away to see clearly but she was sure it was the reflection from a scope. Just in the nick of time.

“-But now, it’s time to talk about why we’re really here. It’s time to talk about the Commonwealth.” She said, coming back to herself. More wild applause broke out. They were so ready for this. “It’s been a long time coming. Gage and I worked our asses off for this. We almost died too many times to count while you fuckers were sitting pretty here in Nuka Town.”

She looked out over the sea of raiders staring at up at her, hanging on every word.

“That doesn’t matter anymore. Because this isn’t going to go how you think it is. I’m not who you think I am. I never have been.” A shockwave went through the crowd. “You’re not going to the Commonwealth. I’m with the Minutemen- You know the Minutemen, right?- and I have been the whole time. I lead them into the park and we have you surrounded. If you lay down your weapons no one will get hurt. Before you think about fighting, remember, it is awfully hard to make caps and live free if you’re dead.”

A gunshot rang out. It cracked through the air and for moment Sage was afraid she’d been shot. A disgusting splattering sound followed. Someone, presumably their sniper, had blown the head clear off Nisha’s body. It fell from where it hung on the balcony. The raiders looked around frantically. The escape routes were blocked off by dozens of Commonwealth citizens. Above them, Minutemen with rifles of all kinds lined up on the rooftops surrounding the square.

Sage could feel it. She was so close to getting what she wanted. Just once, one time where no one had to die. Maybe she could end today without the weight of another hundred souls on her shoulders. The raiders were scared, they respected her. If she could just play this right-

Something impacted with her back. It wasn’t a bullet; it felt like a train. She crashed into the railing of the balcony, nearly toppling over it. She caught herself and spun around, only to catch a fist with her jaw. She saw stars for a moment. Her vision cleared in time to dodge another swing from her assailant. Her heart dropped when she finally registered who it was.

The world had fallen out from under him. Gage had stood in the back of the Fizztop and listened to her sell them out. Everything from the last two months had been a lie. The monster inside him, the paranoid, angry beast, clawed through his chest. If he hadn’t been so fucking blind he could have stopped this. She’d slipped a leash on him so light and comfortable he hadn’t even realized it was there.

His teeth were clenched so tight his jaw hurt. He should have shot her. He was bitterly ashamed that he didn’t. There was nothing stopping him but his own god damn foolishness. He should have known better than to pretend he was anything other than a heartless raider. That was his mistake.

Connor had left him for dead. This was miles worse. Sage had made him believe in her more than he believed in anything. Now there was nothing left but rage.

The courtyard exploded like a powderkeg. Sage could hear it. Gunshots and screaming, all the horrific warfare she had tried so desperately to avoid. All she could focus on was the man before her. Porter fucking Gage had broken the spell the raiders had been under and now they’d all pay the price.

Sage slid passed him as he made another lunge for her. She needed to get away from the balcony. Lucky for her, Gage was a mess. His fury was making him sloppy. Her pistol was on her hip this time but that wasn’t what she wanted. She learned from her mistakes; her rifle was nearby.

Gage was on her heels. She grabbed the gun from where it lay and spun like a dancer. She used the momentum to whack him across the face with the rifle. He reeled away, giving her just enough time for her to swing the gun the again. This time she hit him hard under the chin. He stumbled back, tasting blood in his mouth. His half-step away gave her the breathing room she needed to jab the rifle butt into his stomach.

She shifted her grip on the gun, holding it more like a baseball bat, but before she could swing Gage made another attack.  He lunged for the rifle. Sage’s unorthodox hold on the weapon left her at a disadvantage; wrenching it out of her hands was easier than he expected it to be. In his overpowered, unthinking state, it got thrown across the room.

He didn’t dwell on it. The gun was secondary, he just needed it out of the way. She put her hands up to block his incoming fists. It didn’t do much good. They pounded through her defenses. He wasn’t thinking, just swinging. It was an outlet, a repayment, for the rage and betrayal and anguish.

Sage knew she couldn’t beat Gage in hand-to-hand combat. He was larger, stronger than she was. Her only hope had been to use the tools available to beat him into submission. If she could just slip away she might have a chance. The blows kept coming and she could feel her grip on reality fading.

He stopped. He didn’t mean to. Warm blood splattering against his face brought him back to the world, just a little. Sage’s nose was broken. She had a black eye and a split lip and God knew what else. Seeing what he’d done to her made him falter and he hated it. He hated that she still had this kind of power over him. There was a small, disdainful voice in the back of his head that told him that he didn’t have the guts to finish this.

Sage didn’t know what made him hesitate but she wasn’t going to miss the opportunity. She stomped her heel down on his foot as hard as she could. He yowled in pain as she raced away. There wasn’t far she could go. She ran back toward the windows and finally drew her pistol. Heavy footsteps fell behind her. She had one more chance to get her way or die trying.

In one swift motion she turned and shot two bullets into the ground, missing Gage’s feet by inches. He was just a few feet away. Sage had him staring down the barrel.

He had too much pride to put his hands up. If this was it, he wasn’t going to die begging. Instead he stared her down, fists balled at his sides and snarling.

She didn’t pull the trigger. They stood there, locked in a terrible moment, while chaos reigned in the streets below them.

“You gonna do this, or what?” he growled. “I’m right where you want me. Best chance you’ll ever have.”

He was too angry to be scared.

“This wasn’t- it was never personal, Gage.” Sage held the gun perfectly steady. Only the smallest tremor in her voice gave her away. “I don’t want to kill you. Don’t make me. It doesn’t have to be like this.”

Another shard of glass in his ruined heart.

“Yeah? What the fuck else is there?” He spat at the ground. “Why the fuck would I trust you, anyway? After all this.”

“I did everything I could to make this peaceful. I didn’t want any of this. I never even wanted to be the Overboss. You know I was forced into this position. You orchestrated it yourself!” She glared at him. “I hoped that if I just did what you wanted then maybe it would be enough. Give the raiders their parks, their little kingdoms to hold on to. But I’ve worked too hard, sacrificed too much, to let the Commonwealth fall to raiders now.”

“How long you been plannin’ this?” Gage asked. His heart was still pounding in his chest. He didn’t understand why Sage hadn’t just killed him by now.  He’d seen how ruthless she could be.

“It’s complicated.” She started. “First I just wanted to get home. Maybe come back later to save the market slaves. It’s not important now-”

“What hell you mean it ain’t important? You been lyin’ to me for goddamn months! What the fuck do you even _want_ out of this?”

“I was lying to stay alive, Gage. People have done worse for the sake of survival.” She said with a touch of remorse. “And I just- I just want to keep people safe. Things are changing. People are done putting up with raiders. They’re fighting back. This isn’t a viable life choice anymore.”

The gun was still aimed at his face. Gage almost wanted to lean into it. Do something stupid and spiteful. Whatever was happening in the square was tuned out, just riotous background music to this terrible scene they found themselves in.

“So what’re you gonna do if I keep fightin’?” Gage demanded. “I still got my gun. Don’t treat me like I ain’t a threat.”

“If you wanted to kill me you already would have.” Sage answered. She didn’t blink. “And just because I don’t want to kill you doesn’t mean I won’t. You know what I’m capable of. You know me.”

“I thought I did,” he said.

It stung. Of course he didn’t know the real her. She knew that. She shouldn’t care so fucking much. What was the plan here, anyway? Did she really think he’d just roll over? Her finger was still on the trigger. It would be so much simpler to end this now. Even with the blood in her eyes, she didn’t know if she could do it.

A glint of light; a shadow in the hallway. Sage’s eyes were drawn to the movement and found Deacon wobbling in the doorway, pistol raised. He was focused on Gage. There was no way to know what he had heard. Deacon tensed up; Sage didn’t have time to think.

Gage didn’t have time to react to her charging; it was the last thing he expected. He let out a startled grunt in the split second it took to shoulder past him. Deacon’s silenced pistol had barely made a sound. It wasn’t until he saw Sage stumble to the ground that he realized what happened.

She wasn’t completely collapsed. She clutched at her side, red seeping through her fingers, as she steadied herself on her knees.

“Fuck!”

“Sage!”

“What the hell-”

“Why would you-”

She didn’t know exactly who was yelling what. It didn’t really matter. Both men rushed her.

“That wasn’t supposed to happen.” Deacon said as he slid down next to her. “Did the bullet go all the way through? The fuck were you thinking? I could’ve killed you!”

He moved her hand from the wound on her side, and felt around her back, hoping for an exit hole. He was more relieved than he should’ve been at the amount of blood he found. At least that meant he could use a stim without doing more harm than good.

Sage’s cycloptic pal was already grabbing one off a table. It was awfully charitable of him, considering Sage had held him at gunpoint not thirty seconds ago. Deacon was surprised he didn’t just hightail it out of there. He couldn’t have thought he was going to get out of that alive. Why waste the opportunity to escape?

Instead Deacon watched Gage maneuver around to her injured side and almost gingerly inject her with the stim. All while giving Deacon an intense, one-sided evil eye.

“I knew you didn’t want to kill me.” Sage murmured as her body stitched itself back together. Gage didn’t answer. His shoulders slackened ever so slightly. Deacon couldn’t put a name to the emotion he found on Gage’s face; maybe disappointment?

Deacon opened his mouth to talk; Sage cut him off.

“Don’t start. I had it under control.” Deacon tried again but she kept going. “Don’t apologize, either. I’m the one the got in the way.”

“Yeah I was gonna ask-” Deacon started, only to find himself interrupted again.

“Why the hell did you do that?” Gage croaked. He was tired. He was broken. Nothing made any goddamn sense. “Ain’t no reason to keep me around. No reason to take a fucking bullet for me. _Especially_ not after that beating.”

Sage was quiet for a moment. Deacon had the decency to leave the situation. He kept watch by the windows. The battle was going way better than he expected.

“People deserve a second chance, Gage. Even people like you.” She looked over at him. He was still kneeling on the ground next to her, staring at the used stimpack in his hand. After a second he met her eyes. “You can go ahead and hate me. I have it coming. But raiders are a dying breed and I don’t want _you_ to die with them.”  

He wanted to hate her. He was full of piss and vinegar but it was impossible for him focus it on Sage. All the lying it took to get them there fell by the wayside. There was something so genuine about her; There always had been. He could see it now and it was more than he deserved.

He didn’t earn this second chance but, by god, he was going to take it. Maybe someday he’d pay it back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Could I have split up the Absolute Unit of a chapter into smaller ones? Yes. But I didn't want to, because I promised a final chapter, dangit. There will be a short epilogue to follow!
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! I'm on tumblr and pillowfort as Apologeticallydorky if anyone wants to follow/yell at me?


	6. Epilogue

Early summer in Goodneighbor was the best time of year. No one had to worry about keeping warm at night, but it wasn’t hot enough for the stink from the gutters to be overpowering. 

Sage and Hancock sat out on the balcony of the Old State House. A small table and a couple chairs just barely fit out there, but it was a perfect night; the bright moon was rising over the dilapidated buildings, stars were twinkling, and a soft breeze blew through the streets. Hancock had made dinner, as he usually did, and they enjoyed it over a beer or two. 

It had been a few months since Nuka World had happened, and Sage was never more happy to be home than in these moments. She was grateful, deeply grateful, for how everything had turned out. It wasn’t as smooth as she’d wanted it to be, but it had still worked. Reintegrating raiders into society was a slow, often painful process, but it wasn’t impossible.

After the short battle, most of the raiders had opted to stay around Nuka World anyway. There were plenty of resources and plenty of room out there. All they had to do was learn how to use it rather than relying on theft and murder. The ex-raiders weren’t in charge, of course. Control of the park had been handed over the newly-liberated market workers. The merchants were understandably reluctant to work with the ex-raiders, but the protection of the Minutemen gave them some peace of mind. Several squads of Minutemen took turns watching over Nuka World, swapping out every month. They kept the ex-raiders in line and even taught them how to properly settle the place. 

Not everyone had survived the battle, of course. It weighed on Sage heavily. They hadn’t lost many, but losing anyone was too much. Sage made sure the families of those lost got some kind of recompense. She couldn’t replace their loved ones, but she could offer support in coming months. 

At least she was finally home. She starting to feel antsy, though. They’d taken it easy for a time, but the wasteland was calling her again. There was always work to do.

“Whatcha thinkin’ about, Sunshine?” Hancock asked, breaking their comfortable silence. He sipped a beer and leaned back, enjoying the calm buzz of his city.

“We should check on Nuka World in a couple weeks,” she replied. 

“Why? You got reports coming in every month. The traders are even payin’ your Minutemen some wages.”

“I just think it’s a good idea. The raiders are staying in line pretty well but-”

“But you wanna remind them their all-powerful Overboss is still around.” Hancock finished with a smirk.

“Yeah. And there are a couple loose ends I want to wrap up, anyway.” She said. She sat up and stretched, arching her back. Hancock just smiled at her. 

“Well, stir crazy as you get, you ain’t going anywhere without me. Fahr can handle Goodneighbor awhile.” He paused to take a drink, then continued. “‘Course if you’re just lookin’ for something to do, I heard MacCready wanted a word.”

“Please, you get cabin fever just as bad as I do-” Sage said with a laugh that was cut short.

Something caught her off guard. It was a voice, coming from below them. It was one she knew well and hadn’t expected to hear again. A slow, southern drawl, sorely out of place in the streets of Boston.

“How’re you gonna come all the way to Goodneighbor and you ain’t even know who’s in charge?” The Neighborhood Watchmen replied to a question Sage hadn’t quite heard. “You been livin’ under a rock? Guess it don’t matter. Hancock’s the man you’re lookin’ for.”

Hancock perked up at the sound of his name. He frowned at Sage’s sudden mood change but it was his job to make an introduction. He stood and peered over the balcony. Sage followed reluctantly, more drawn by curiosity than anything. She had to make sure; maybe she was just hearing things.

She tensed up. Down on the street stood Porter Gage. He was cleaned up, as much as one could be in the wasteland. His old cage armor had been traded out for mismatched pieces of leather and combat armor. The only hint he’d once been a raider was his metal-and-leather eyepatch. The ancient Nuka World t-shirt he wore under the armor gave a clue where he was from but only to those that knew to look. Sage wondered if he just wasn’t ready to give the place up.

Hancock held the bannister with both hands and put on his greatest showmans smile. He was oblivious to Sage’s revelation. 

“We got us a newcomer?” Hancock asked at the street. “What brings you to our nice little community?”

“Just lookin’ for-”

Gage stopped. There she was, leaning her elbow against the railing. Sage was wearing torn jeans and some old tank top. The hair she used to keep up in a tight bun fell loosely just above her shoulders. No armor, no guns. She seemed comfortable and it looked good on her. Nothing like she looked back in Nuka World. She stood awful close to the fancied-up ghoul next to her and Gage couldn’t help but feel a little bitter about that. 

She was staring at him with wide eyes; Apparently she was just as surprised to see him there as he was to see her. It wasn’t like they’d talked about their plans after the battle- after  _ their _ fight. She had shit to handle and he, well, he left. Him staying around would’ve been weird. It wasn’t like she needed him. 

“-Just lookin’ for work.” Gage said, shaking himself out the daze. “Figured finding the man in charge would be the place to start.”

“Ah huh. Normally I’d just send you off to Whitechapel Charlie and get more acquainted later on.” Hancock answered. He was far from stupid; He’d picked up on that look between them. He glanced over at Sage. “But what do you think, Sunshine?”

Gage could’ve laughed.  _ Sunshine _ ? He supposed any pet name would’ve sounded ridiculous coming out of this raspy ghoul toward the Overboss- 

But she wasn’t the Overboss. She was just Sage. And apparently this was what she wanted, seeing as she didn’t clock the guy like Gage would’ve expected about three months ago. Gage looked at her almost sheepishly. He had no idea what to expect. She looked at her- Partner? Lover? Beau?- silently for a moment, chewing her lip in thought. When she came to a decision she turned to peer down at Gage again. 

“Invite him up.” Sage said, with a tiny smile playing on her lips. Gage couldn’t help but smile back. “I think we have plenty to talk about.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I can't believe it's finally done. I've been working on this story all frickfracking year. I hope everyone... is satisfied? by how I wrapped everything. I was very upset that I couldn't talk Gage out of being a raider at the end and I had to do something about it. 
> 
> Look me up on tumblr and pillowfort! I'd love to hear from you.


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